SYMONDSBURY school pupils who dressed in purple and walked for 15 miles in memory of a popular mum who died last year have raised nearly £10,000.

The Rebecca Harris Memorial Walk, held in June raised £9850 and the money has been split equally between the Fortuneswell Cancer Trust and Symondsbury Primary School, where Rebecca’s sons Rowan and Joseph are pupils.

As well as a memorial bench in the playground, the school has used some of their share of funds to buy an entire new set of reading books for pupils.

Headteacher Emma Roberts said the books were to help the children develop a love of reading that can open up new worlds for the children and inspire their learning.

The new reading scheme was launched at a special event at the school on Tuesday at which parents and pupils got the chance to see the new books and learn more about how to use them creatively to develop reading and literacy skills.

The remainder of the school’s funds have not yet been allocated and, with the agreement of Rebecca’s family and friends, they will be used to establish an educational fund to benefit children at schools across Bridport, to provide inclusive arts and outdoor learning opportunities.

Ms Roberts said: “We are overwhelmed at the amount of money raised and are so grateful to everyone who supported the walk back in the summer.

"The bench in the playground is already a popular addition to our outdoor furniture and the new reading books, which are a wonderful collection of magical stories, colourful characters and classic fiction, are a most fitting legacy of an inspirational parent. The pupils at the school will benefit from the books for years to come and extend a big thank you to everyone who played a part in raising the money.”

Dr David Evans, Chairman of the Fortuneswell Cancer Trust said: “This was an amazing effort by so many people in memory of a wonderful person. The trust will use its share towards its main long-term goal of a Cancer Centre at Dorset County Hospital which will make life better for local cancer sufferers. We are extremely grateful to all those who organised and participated in the event.”

Victoria Upton, one of the walk organisers, added: “When we started this idea, we hoped we’d get a few people out to do a walk in Bec’s memory and we’d maybe raise £2000.

"To have now raised nearly £10,000 and to have seen 200 people dressed in purple walking together across the fields is incredible.

"This was a wonderful joint effort by so many people and we want to thank everybody who played a part and wished us well. We are looking forward to developing ideas for how to use the remainder of the funds towards wider learning opportunities for children across Bridport and we intend to develop a long-running fund to provide arts education and outdoor learning activities – two areas that were close to Rebecca’s heart.”

For more information about the fund, to suggest potential projects for future funding or to make any further donation, please email rhmwalk@aol.co.uk.