Marcus Rashford inspires Olympic sprinter Adam Gemili to donate £1,000 to Wentworth Primary School, Dartford
06:00, 19 November 2020
Olympic sprinter Adam Gemili has been taking a leaf out of footballer Marcus Rashford’s book and is helping families in need.
The star of the track from Dartford – who competed at both London 2012 and Rio 2016 – has given £1,000 to support vulnerable children.
Adam, 27, used to go to Wentworth Primary School and was keen to help in these difficult times.
Echoing the work of Manchester United and England footballer Rashford – who campaigned for free school meals for kids during half-term and this week launched a book club to help children enjoy reading – Adam asked what he could do.
Head teacher Paul Langridge said: “Adam Gemili is a former pupil of Wentworth Primary School and he remains in regular contact with the school.
“He is an inspiration to our pupils, and we’ve even named one of our school buildings after him.
“Following the news the government would not be providing food vouchers for children who receive free school meals during the last half-term holiday, Adam got in touch and asked what the situation was with our children.
“We are fortunate to have very close links with Christ Church, Dartford, and they provided supermarket vouchers to our families who were most in need, while Kent County Council launched its own scheme to provide vouchers for eligible families.
“Adam still wanted to help so he donated £1,000, which he said we should use to support our most vulnerable families during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are going to use the money to purchase electronic devices that will enable all pupils to easily work remotely from home if they are required to self-isolate.
“This will ensure those children’s education can continue in the same way as their peers’ and they will not be at a disadvantage due to not owning a laptop or computer or only having access to an older device.
“The whole school community is extremely grateful to Adam for his generous gesture and we would like to thank him wholeheartedly.
“He is an inspiration to our pupils, and we’ve even named one of our school buildings after him..."
"You really couldn’t meet a nicer, kinder young man and we are all very appreciative of everything he does for his former school.”
World champion sprinter Adam returned to his old primary school in 2017, and said meeting children in front of a new school block with his name on it was better than winning a medal.
He said at the time: “When you win gold as a team you can celebrate, but here it’s nice to come back to where it all started for me, where my roots are, where we live as a family – we’re from Dartford so it’s lovely to back. I love it here.”
He is the 2014 European champion at 200 metres, and 4 x 100 metres relay, and was part of the Great Britain team that won gold in the 2017 World Championships in the same event
It’s been a tough time for the primary school, which is now using anti-viral ‘fogging’ machines to help make classrooms safe after it confirmed two more Covid-19 cases.
It sent home 65 pupils and five members of staff to self-isolate for 14 days after the latest cases last Thursday. One was within a Year 2 bubble and another within a Year 4 bubble.
The school has invested in a ‘fogging’ machine to disinfect classrooms. The device works similar to a leaf blower and is used to sanitise spaces by releasing chemical solutions into the air equipped to kill bacteria and germs.
