King's Ely Junior pupils raise £300 by swapping gadgets for books

Pupils at King’s Ely Junior have raised more than £300 for the Mothers’ Union by swapping their gadgets for books.

The ‘Switch off your Technology and Read’ initiative saw students ditching their games consoles, tablets and social media pages between February 27 and March 6 to read books instead.

By focusing on pages rather than pixels, King’s Ely Junior pupils raised £392 for the Mothers’ Union. The bumper cheque was presented to Susan Baker and Alice Leadbeter, who are local Mothers’ Union volunteers, during King’s Ely Junior’s service at Ely Cathedral on April 26.

The dedicated volunteers described the amount raised as “truly amazing” and explained to pupils and staff that the money would be used to help teach people in developing and war-stricken countries how to read.

Head of King’s Ely Junior, Richard Whymark, said: “Through this initiative in support of a great cause, our students gained an understanding of the transformational impact learning to read can have. I was delighted to see them really enjoying reading rather than relying on technology for their inspiration while they completed the challenge.”

King's Ely Junior is a co-educational independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 7-13.