Primary school ‘goes orange’ to support inspirational pupil

St Margaret’s Primary showed its support to a pupil at the school with duchenne muscular dystrophy by ‘going orange’ for the day.

P2 pupil, Somhairle McMenemy, battles the serious muscle-wasting condition on a daily basis, inspiring everyone at the Cowie-based school with his strength and positivity.

Earlier this month (7 Feb), the entire school community visibly rallied round the six-year-old to raise money for research into duchenne muscular dystrophy.

All the children wore an orange item of clothing and made a donation, the Parent Council provided a free orange to every pupil and the catering department produced a special ‘Go Orange Day’ menu.

Somhairle’s parents – Sarah and Gerry – also attended a special ‘orange assembly’, where his dad, Gerry, highlighted the importance of the school’s fundraising efforts into researching treatments for the condition.

The event raised £410 for the charity “Muscle in with Somhairle”, which Gerry and Sarah set up to raise awareness and vital funds to support the work of Muscular Dystrophy UK into the Duchenne Research Breakthrough Fund.

Huge support

Gerry said: “Sarah and I were absolutely blown away by the huge support from all the children, parents and staff at St Margaret’s Primary.

“To raise such a significant sum of money from such a small school is nothing short of amazing. All over the UK on Friday, schools, businesses, shops and lots of other communities pulled together and went "bright for the fight" to fundraise for Muscular Dystrophy UK. I can't possibly imagine anything brighter than that assembly at St Margaret’s.

“We know that all that money raised will go towards the Duchenne Research Fund and will give much needed hope to boys like our own six-year-old Somhairle and their families all over the country.

“Duchenne is a cruel and relentless condition, but together we will fight for the scientific breakthrough for a cure that so many are working on worldwide. Thank you St Margaret’s family for 'Muscling in with Somhairle'.”

Go Orange for a Day is an annual campaign when schools, workplaces and local communities across the UK wear bright orange clothes to raise awareness and funds for muscle-wasting conditions.

Strength and positivity

Headteacher at the school, Paul Nugent said: “Somhairle is an integral part of the St. Margaret’s Primary School family and his strength and positivity is an inspiration to us all.

“Far from being downcast or negative about his condition, Somhairle fights the symptoms head on and continually educates those around him on how his body is changing.

“To show our support to Somhairle, the entire school community embraced ‘Go Orange Day’ to raise money for research into muscular dystrophy.

“Somhairle’s Father, Gerry, made a fantastic speech which reminded us all of the importance of our support and the hope for developments into finding treatments for the condition.”