Sleaford school to create living memorial inspired by Covid-19 pandemic after raising £2,700-plus funds

St George’s Academy is to plant an Avenue of Remembrance on the Sleaford campus school field, comprising 14 lime trees.

Each tree will have a poem about the pandemic on a plaque at its base; these have been written by children at the school, from Year Seven to Sixth Form, and selected following a competition.

The avenue will also feature six benches, each inscribed with a ‘pause for thought’ chosen by staff to support positive mental health.

These are ‘inspirational sayings’, the school explained, and include: ‘stay positive, work hard, make it happen’; ‘it not about being the best, it is about being better than yesterday’; and ‘don’t be afraid to start over again – this time you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience’.

School principal Laranya Caslin said: “The aim is that the avenue becomes a living memorial and also a place for reflection, tranquillity and quiet reverie.”

It would, she said, recognise: ‘the sacrifice, effort and achievement of local, national and global communities’.

The academy community raised more than £2,700 to create the Avenue of Remembrance.

Part of the sum came from a non-uniform day, from which proceeds were split between the project and the Young Minds charity.

Parents were also invited to contribute further to the memorial themselves, raising more than £1,000 in response – for which the school said it was ‘very grateful’.

“It has been a project that has engaged the whole school community at a time when community spirit is a great tonic for the difficulties we are experiencing,” Mrs Caslin added.

A planting ceremony for the avenue is due to be held later this month.