Hi, my name is Alex. I’m married to Lyndsey and we have two boys at St James. My wife, who is on the PTFA, told me about this amazing opportunity to help raise money for St James and also do something that would make us all proud.

I’ll be honest—when she first said it involved walking across hot coals, I didn’t immediately think, “Yes, sign me up!”But when my son told me how proud he’d be of me, there was no way I could say no.

St James Primary School is an incredible place, and we are so grateful to all the staff and the PTFA for everything they do to support the school. If by doing this fire walk I can make my son and family proud—and raise money to help the school—then it’s absolutely worth it.

A bit about the school:

Like most schools, the national funding crisis is having an impact on the resources and opportunities available to our pupils. St James’s C of E Primary School PTFA, a registered charity run by volunteers, exists to raise money to support the school and advance the education of the pupils, by providing facilities and equipment.

As well as responding to funding requests for basic resources, books, equipment and experiences to enrich our children's education, our PTFA has been asked to help with something rather important – toilets! Everyone uses them, no one wants to talk about them – until they stop working, smell funny, or look like they’ve time-travelled from 1973.

At St James’s CE Primary School, we believe our pupils deserve more than just “functioning” toilets. They deserve safe, clean, modern spaces that support their learning and well-being.

We’re not aiming for gold-plated taps or piped-in music – just a well-ventilated, modern facility that children feel comfortable using.