Just after May half term, parents and students at Castle Hill School received the news that thousands of pounds of equipment and facilities had been destroyed after an 'intruder' broke in and started a 'deliberate' fire. 

Shortly after, a fundraiser was started to cover the costs of the damage, which has since garnered £10,000 in donations. 

Castle Hill High School in Offerton is a Special Education school for students aged 11-18 with significant and complex needs.

The half-term fire completely destroyed Castle Hill's outdoor forest school, which was used to teach students about the natural environment and problem-solving. A police investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The importance of the forest school was emphasised by John Hadley, the outdoor education lead at Castle Hill: "All of our pupils have Special Educational Needs, and it's important that we have in our curriculum so much time to get them outside, and get them exploring in a natural environment", he said. 

"That took a massive hit with this fire. The children were appalled at what had happened."

A police investigation into the fire is ongoing (Image - John Hadley)

Only a day after receiving the news, Gemma Minshall, a parent of a student at Castle Hill, started a fundraiser to cover the cost of the lost equipment.

"My daughter got off the school bus that night and she was really upset", Gemma explains. 

"I think people were just really sad; that's how I felt. It has become apparent how integral the forest school is to these kids."

This was Gemma's first time setting up a fundraiser, humbly admitting that she did not think of it so much as a grand endeavour, rather as simply something which ought to be done. 

Castle Hill was resigned to replacing the lost equipment over a long time, which makes the scale of the response to the fundraiser all the more impressive.  

"We've been completely blown over by the amount of support that we've had", Mr Hadley said. "It's not even just parents and carers - it's the local community, local businesses.

"With the support that we've had, it's not going to be a long process to build back to what we were. The provision that we offer to our kids is going to increase, and benefit them massively."

Certainly, the fundraiser response is such that as well as replacing damaged equipment, money could even go towards improving existing outdoor provision. 

As Mr Hadley says: "Because support has been so overwhelming, it could go towards really enhancing our provision for outdoor education. 

"We've got ideas to build a sensory garden, a pond area, a sheltered area, which these funds will enable us to do."

Castle Hill in Offerton aims to help students gain 'the maximum amount of independence' as they leave school (Image - Google Maps)

Similarly, Gemma describes how the community's response to the fundraiser has yielded a positive outcome from what was otherwise a profoundly upsetting incident. 

"It's really nice to be able to say to the kids, 'Well, something really rubbish has happened, but look at what other people have done in response - something that's really kind'."

With the funds raised, Castle Hill can work at continuing its outdoor provision, so integral to the curriculum for its students. 

As Mr Hadley says: "[Castle Hill] prepares pupils for the maximum amount of independence as they finish school."

The fundraiser is still live, and every donation is very much welcome. Those who wish to help Castle School and its students can donate to the fundraiser HERE.

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