Sheffield special school pupil raises thousands in lockdown for new building fund

Jack Mitchell, aged 18, of Grenoside, has so far raised £2,700 for Paces School, a specialist cerebral palsy school based in High Green.

Jack has sadly just lost him mum Stacey to cancer, and has been making wooden clock, candle and plant holders with his dad Ian in the shed at the bottom of their garden.

They have since sold hundreds of items, with all proceeds going to the school’s fund to build a new home more suitable to their needs than the old High Green High School building they currently use.

Ian said the long lockdown period was hard for Jack, but that their fundraising project kept the pair of them busy and entertained throughout.

He said: “I’m very proud of him. He struggles with motor control so sanding all the wood down is quite an effort for him. He does all the hard work and I just put a couple of holes in the top.

“He has been going to Paces since he was six months old but leaves next year and they have done an unbelievable job with him and all the children who go there.”

“But they really deserve a better building to work in even if Jack will have left by the time it opens.”

Jack’s disability means that he is unable to move and he also cannot speak so uses an ‘Eye Gaze’ computer to do this for him.

He is the third Paces pupil to raise a substantial amount of money for the Pack Horse Lane school during the coronavirus lockdown.

Tobias Weller from Beauchief has raised £150,000 for Paces by walking two marathons while Lennie Street from Morley in West Yorkshire has raised more than £10,000 by learning 100 different songs on the piano.

“All the Paces pupils have really pulled out all the stops during lockdown,” added Ian.

“They have been fantastic.”

To order one of Jack’s creations, email [email protected].

To find out more about the school’s A New Home for Paces campaign or donate, visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/pacesnewhome.

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