Big fundraising goals for Hatton school that helps bullied children

Northleigh House School, which is also a charity, supports up to 30 secondary-school aged children recovering from the effects of extreme bullying.

The school was created in 2012 by Viv and Fred Morgan. They initially bought the property when it was run as a hotel and came across a story in a newspaper left by a guest about a teenager in Cornwall who killed herself because of bullying.

After reading this the couple decided to try and make a difference.

The team at the school are currently fundraising for two projects, the first being a new music room. The school currently runs music lessons but the staff and volunteers are now looking to purchase a room specifically dedicated to music.

Viv said: “At the moment music is done in a little corner of our barn and there are always other people in there and it really needs a space of its own. We have now got a music teacher and there are big plans to possibly set up the Northleigh Band.

“It would be nice if we could do this as it would be a great benefit to the children. These sorts of things all help to give the students so much confidence.

“We need to raise £9,500 for the music room and we have raised just over £1,000 so far. We just have to persevere and keep going.”

As well as a new music room the team at the school are also working on raising £120,000 in the hopes of being able to provide for primary school age children.

Viv said: “We have been approached by the authorities for us to potentially have a primary school age department and I thought it was a good idea.

“If we could get the children into our school at that age there is more chance of them being able to cope in mainstream school later. It is a lot harder to reintroduce older children to mainstream school as by the time they have caught up with their education it is time for them to do their qualifications.

Looking forward, Viv hopes these improvements will continue to help the children that come to the school. She said: “My husband Fred died 18 months ago and he just wanted the school to continue. He loved the school and he loved the children.

“The children come to us in a state of despair and leave us on their way to a better life. I want to be able to continue to do that and I want to improve it with things like the music room.”

As well as raising fundraising the school is always looking for volunteers.

To donate click here or to get in touch about volunteering click here or call 01926 484203.