A local primary school teacher has written a song to raise money for Children in Need – and the pupils are helping him record it.
Damian Thursby, 43, who has taught at Cherry Willingham Primary School in Lincoln for 18 years, produced his song ‘Will You Help This Child’, which draws attention to some of the issues young people face such as deafness, neglect and illness.
Father-of-two Damian, from Lincoln, said he has always wanted to do something like this for many years: “Each year it gets to Children in Need and I wish I’d done it. I’ve always donated to the charity and know people whose children have really benefited from the work they do.
“It would be nice to think children who are going into primary schools that have various issues are getting the right support because of the money we raise.”
But he won’t be recording the song alone, as over 300 pupils, aged 4 to 11, will be singing backing vocals.
“I wanted to get the children involved to raise awareness that not all children are as lucky as they are.”
One pupil Ebony (10) said: “I enjoyed the fact that it’s for a good cause, and I hope it will be inspiring to other schools. It’s taken up a lot of our time, but it’s been worth it.”
A total of 1,000 copies of the CD will be produced this week, and Damian is asking for a minimum donation of £3 per copy, in the hope of raising at least £1,000 for Children in Need.
Despite specialising in music when he studied at Bishop Grosseteste University in the 1990s, and having written songs for the school in the past, Headteacher Mrs Kiera Evans said she had no idea about Damian’s talents.
She said: “We are all very proud of Mr Thursby. It’s a lovely song and when we played it for the children for the first time, some of them were wiping away tears, so they can obviously associate with it.
“I’m hoping that everyone will support us and buy it because it’s an exciting adventure for both staff and pupils.”
Many people, and organisations, have contributed including Stokes Coffee and Tea, who are sponsoring the project.
Damian said: “It’s been a dream of mine for years, so everyone that has helped me to do this really has helped me to achieve a dream.”