As soon as they put their pens down after writing their last exam on Monday, more than 200 Stirling High School matrics donated their school shoes to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Stirling matric class wrote their final exam in civvies, having donated their shoes to the Scripture Union School Shoe Collection Project for needy pupils in East London. The initiative, which was started by former Stirling High teacher Sue Bentley, has been running for 11 years.
“I started the initiative in 2007 when I was still a teacher at Cambridge High School. A group of students from my matric class shared a story about a trip they had to a certain informal settlement where they saw siblings sharing a pair of school shoes. I then encouraged my matric class to donate their shoes after their final matric exam to donate to the less fortunate.”
Bentley said 6,000 pairs of shoes had been donated.
Bentley then joined the Stirling High scripture union where the project was continued.
“I have now been working with them for the past eleven years. We always encourage matrics to leave the shoes they are not using.
“Matric pupils are leaving behind a legacy at their high schools by donating their shoes to less fortunate learners.”
Bently said that over the years they have been able to encourage other schools in East London to donate their shoes after their last high school exam. She said the project has been adopted by most of the high schools in East London.
“It is really sad that for some children a simple necessity such as school shoes is a privilege. This initiative has helped many children get out of that vicious cycle.”
Deputy principal Alan Webster said: “The Scripture Union (SU) initiated the programme and as a school we were happy to run with it.
“This year we decided to let them [matrics] write their last exam in civvies and bring their shoes with them, which they dropped in a box before writing.”..