Wigan school donates over 700 chocolate oranges to donate to NHS nurses

As a token of seasonal gratitude, Byrchall High School has been collecting confectionery to be donated to key workers since 2019 and this year after weeks of collections, they have gifted a total of 721 chocolate oranges. Orange donations varied in size, from singular oranges to bulk deposits; one student’s dad even gifted 120 of them!

The initiative is part of a wider campaign known as Team Chocolate Orange and Chris Lamb, the founder, has been collecting chocolate oranges to provide nurses and other key workers with a small token of appreciation just before Christmas.

He began this campaign after his son Elliott sadly passed away at the age of four. Since this tragic loss, Chris has aimed to continue Elliott’s legacy and bring about positivity and light, sharing gratitude and kindness to healthcare professionals.

Since the campaign’s launch in 2011 over 130,000 chocolate oranges have been donated through collections across the UK.

Byrchall High School became involved in this collection after Head of Computing, Colin Smethurst, shared the campaign with the school community after a personal experience with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Colin explained his connections to the cause and said: “Chris Lamb is a friend of the family. In 2018, when my daughter Edith was in Alder Hey for an extended stay following heart surgery, Chris and his friends delivered some chocolate oranges to the hospital in a huge truck.

"After this visit, he posted a photo of a four-month-old Edith inspecting one of these oranges. From then on, I decided I’d like to contribute to his fantastic campaign. I thought it might be something I could share with our Byrchall community and, from there, it has gone from strength to strength.”

Recently senior prefects and staff were delighted to hand over their donation at St Helens Town Hall. The chocolate oranges have been gifted to NHS workers throughout the North West.

Headteacher Alan Birchall said: “It’s been a tremendous effort from our staff and students this year in making so many donations. I think we all appreciate the work of NHS and frontline staff, and this small token of thanks comes with our best wishes this Christmas.”