Love my Southport community

Schools across Southport community joined together to raise money for sufferers of Marfan Syndrome.

Southport Learning Partnership schools have held a ‘Love My Community’ event every February for several years, with the children of the schools deciding which charity they would support. In the past they have supported the local foodbank, Queenscourt Hospice and Muscular Dystrophy to name just a few.

This year the schools supported the Marfan Foundation following a suggestion by Linaker Primary School at the joint school council meeting in the autumn.  Marfan syndrome is an inherited disorder of the body’s connective tissue, which can lead to medical problems affecting the heart, eyes and skeleton, requiring treatment to prevent serious complications. Adrian Antell, headteacher of Farnborough Road Junior School, Birkdale, said: “Over 18,000 people are affected by Marfan syndrome in the UK, with many more anticipated to be living with the condition undiagnosed.

“One in 3,000 population worldwide is believed to have Marfan syndrome. Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder. This means people are born with Marfan syndrome, however they may not notice any of the signs until much later in life. Marfan syndrome affects the eyes, skeleton, lungs and heart.

“Linaker Primary School has a family who have to deal with Marfan Syndrome every day and we all wanted to show our support.

“Children in Southport schools wore non-uniform for the day and added funky sunglasses as Marfan can have an impact on the eyes, with every child giving £1 to take part.

“The schools raised £6452.16 for the charity, which is an incredible amount”.