A YOUNG pupil who raised more than £100 for his primary school has been nominated for a Young Champions award.
Eight-year-old Jayden Skelton and his family hosted a community Santa’s grotto, with the youngster dressing up as an elf to spread the festive cheer.
The grotto raised £113, all of which Jayden took to his school, Goldthorpe Primary, to go towards its outdoor education programme.
The school’s outdoor education, which includes growing vegetables and rearing small animals in its own farmyard, has been widely praised, but has also been blighted by break-ins, and the school also suffered the theft of its minibus.
Jayden’s commitment has earned him a nomination in the Young Fundraiser category.
Mum Maryjane Skelton, 28, of William Street, Highgate, said: “I’m really proud of him. He loves outdoor education, and when we were first talking about doing this grotto, the first thing he said was we could raise money for outdoor education at school.
“It’s so good what they do there, but they’ve had quite a few problems, with things getting pinched, then the minibus got stolen. He just wants to put something back because he gets such a lot out of it. It really means a lot what goes on at that school.”
Outdoor education teacher Christopher Wharton-Lovett said: “He’s a fantastic lad, he’s a school councillor too so he’s involved in what goes off around school and I knew he was getting involved in things around the community. But I don’t know about him doing this until he brought me the money and said ‘here you are, I’ve raised this’.”
If you know a Young Champion who should be recognised, contact Altine Bootha-King via email on abk@barnsley-chronicle.co.uk
