A remarkable school concert held in honour of a former teacher undergoing cancer treatment has raised an incredible £12,000 for the MacMillan Renton Unit at Hereford County Hospital.
The concert was organised by The Downs Malvern in recognition of the care given to much-loved former French teacher Stéphanie Ingram, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. Stéphanie worked at the school for 24 years and remains a cherished figure in the community.
Almost half of the total raised came from a team at The Downs Malvern’s sister school, Malvern College. They won the school’s Race the Sun challenge, an ambitious dash from the south of England back to the Malvern Hills between sunrise and sunset.
One of the standout moments of the evening was a powerful performance by a 120-strong mass choir, which included former teachers and pupils. Many had not sung together since their school days. Remarkably, they only rehearsed together for the first time on the afternoon of the concert.
Lesley Hunter, Head of Creative Arts at The Downs Malvern and one of the organisers, said:
“We were overwhelmed by the success of the concert. We played to a packed hall and have gone on to raise an incredible £12,000.
The whole day was fabulous. We put out an appeal for performers and almost 80 singers came back to join in. Some hadn’t sung in a choir since they were pupils, while others had gone on to study music, so it was a real mix.
The final item was the mass choir. We’d sent out information in advance, but they only came together at 2.30pm that day, and they did an incredible job, accompanied by an instrumental ensemble also formed on the day.”
Among the choristers was Stéphanie herself, who also helped secure donations from more than 30 local businesses for the evening’s prize raffle.
Donations are still be accepted and anyone who feels able to help can do so at https://pay.sumup.com/b2c/Q0DSWL3R
