Thurso Pupils Raise £260.83 for Village Well in Zambia

28th May 2012

(By Saul Stevens 1S4)

On the 17th of May 2012 Thurso High School held a coffee afternoon in the canteen for an hour after school, which was run by first year pupils.

The coffee afternoon revolved around Fairtrade, which aims to ensure a fair amount of money goes to the producers
from developing countries and their communities, so they can have access to schools and healthcare.

The Social Subjects and Home Economics department both had fair-trade associated lessons recently, to co-inside with the coffee afternoon. In History first year pupils studied the shocking history of slavery, in Geography they found out where cocoa was grown to make chocolate, and where the chocolate was sold. In Modern Studies they will be studying child labour. In Home Economics the first year classes baked a delicious array of items, using Fairtrade ingredients, donated to the school by The Cooperative supermarket.

The end result was the highly successful coffee afternoon. A large number of first year volunteers gave up their time to help out, serving refreshments and tidying up afterwards. It was really popular, and was clearly enjoyed by all the friends and family who attended.

The total proceeds of £260.83 will go to a village in Zambia, towards the costs of a well. Mr Simpson, a member of the Rotary club, came to speak to some first year classes before he left to go Zambia. First year donated pencils to give to them, as well as writing letters.

Overall this was a huge success, and will go a long way to people less fortunate than ourselves.