A caring Pudsey schoolgirl has taken matters into her own hands to support this year’s Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Leigh-Taylor Arundale, a Year 5 pupil at Fulneck School, has spent the recent half-term holiday hand-making personalised wooden poppies for 120 pupils and staff in order to raise money for this important cause.
Leigh-Taylor said:
“I have been making my own poppies for the last four years because I wanted to do something for all the brave servicemen and women who have helped our country and the families who have lost their loved ones. It has taken me ages to do this but I am really proud of what I have achieved.”
Not only do the wooden poppies look extremely colourful thanks to Leigh-Taylor’s painting skills, they also include the name of the person who buys one. The materials and paint used to create them have all been donated by companies impressed by the nine year old’s hard work.
Fulneck School principal, Deborah Newman said:
“The creativity, imagination and caring nature of our wonderful pupils never ceases to amaze me. For Leigh-Taylor to have spent her entire holidays doing this is quite incredible and I hope her efforts will inspire others to support similar worthwhile initiatives. “
This years’ Armistice Day commemorations have special poignancy for all those connected with Fulneck. The school is currently raising money to build a new cricket pavilion in memory of former pupil and war hero Major William Booth.
Major Booth, who played cricket for both Yorkshire and England, was tragically killed at the age of just 29, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, July 1 1916, as a part of the West Yorkshire Regiment.
Funds for the new ‘Major William Booth Cricket Pavilion’ include a significant bequest from the Booth family.
Pictured above are pupils Leigh-Taylor Arundale, Zonye Nwoma, Jayven Chera and Kimberley Stewart.