PITMASTON Primary School was the worthy winner of this year’s Community Involvement Award after their remarkable efforts to find a stem-cell match for pupil Oscar Saxelby-Lee.

Nearly 5,000 people turned out at the School, in Malvern Road in March to register with DKMS, an organisation which helps to find stem-cell donors for people with serious illnesses.

The school launched the drive after Oscar, a reception pupil, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and was told he had three months in which to find a transplant donor.

The story of Oscar’s fight and the campaign led by the school went global, featuring in newspapers as far away as India and the United States.

Kate Wilcock, headteacher of Pitmaston, said: “It feels amazing and what we were able to achieve on that weekend was incredible.

“Not only helping Oscar but finding other people

donors.

“I am so privileged to be

head at Pitmaston and the

most important thing is that over that weekend we were

able to find other people donors who needed them.”

The Pitmaston School donor drive was the largest of its kind in the UK, and what started as a small group of volunteers caught the attention of the wider community - and led to thousands more people registering as donors at separate events across Worcester and online in the following days and weeks.

The charity believes at least 10,000 new potential donors were inspired to join the register by Oscar’s story.

In April, Oscar found a

match, allowing him to begin the treatment process.

However, the efforts of everyone from Pitmaston Primary will not only make a difference to Oscar’s life,

but perhaps to many more, and was a great example of what can be achieved when

the community comes

together.

It makes them worthy winners of the Community Involvement Award, which celebrates individuals and groups which have gone the extra mile to make a difference in their community and beyond.

Pitmaston was chosen by the panel of judges ahead of Debutots and Connect Through Language.