Had it not been for the devastating earthquake and typhoon in the Philippines, the King James Marine Conservation team would have recently returned from a three week scuba diving adventure to the islands of Cebu and Bohol. There, they would have been working with local people to help preserve the coral reefs. Sadly, due to concerns about safety in the region, the expedition had to be cancelled, however this gave our students another idea.

The student conservation team had spent months researching the islands and planning the trip, including taking scuba diving lessons in preparation for the trip and organising fundraising activities such as a bag pack at Asda and sponsored walk to help fund the expedition. With the support of King James' students and staff, and the Bishop Auckland community, the team raised over £1,000, which they felt should benefit the Filipino people.

Students decided that they wanted to donate the money to the Philippines Red Cross Appeal, which is still doing a huge amount of work to help local people who lost everything in the typhoons. Life on the islands is beginning to get back to normal but it will take years of work to fully recover from these natural disasters.

Although the expedition could not take place, some of the students continued to learn to scuba dive with the support of Durham City Scuba and, due to the popularity of the sessions, we are planning to offer scuba diving taster sessions for groups of King James students this year.

Science Teacher and expedition leader, Andrew Lawton said, "I am extremely proud of the empathy and generosity shown by our students in choosing to donate the money that they worked so hard to raise."

"I would like to thank everyone for their generosity in helping us to raise so much, including Asda, who allowed us to organise a fundraising bag pack, and the many local residents who supported us in the shop on the day."