Duchy College Announces Blood Cancer UK as Charity of the Year

The cause has a deeply personal connection to the Badger family, whose daughters, Alice and Isabel, are pupils at Duchy College. Their mother, Philippa, sadly passed away from acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in 2022. The Badger family have since raised over £500,000 for blood cancer research, helping to support work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

“I am really proud that the school has chosen Blood Cancer UK,” Isabel said.

“It is a charity that’s very close to our family’s hearts, so I am excited to see what we can achieve together and how we will be able to support them throughout the year,” she said.

Duchy College has a long history of successful charity partnerships with local and national organisations including Resurrected Bites, Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity and the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

“Charity is at the cornerstone of our community,” Principal, Joanna Fox, said.

“We are exceptionally proud to support Blood Cancer UK and have seen firsthand the impact the disease can have.

“The Badger family are key members of our school community and have worked tirelessly to raise funds for this important cause,” Mrs Fox said.

Beginning this Friday, Duchy College will hold a number of school-wide charity events throughout the academic year to raise much-needed funds to support the 40,000 people diagnosed with blood cancer in the UK each year.

Matthew White, Director at Blood Cancer UK, said:

“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone at Duchy College for choosing Blood Cancer UK as their Charity of the Year. This has a particularly special meaning because of the Badger family, who have already done so much to support blood cancer research in memory of Philippa. It’s wonderful to see Alice and Isabel’s school community getting behind a cause that means so much to them and their family.

“Acute myeloid leukaemia, the type of blood cancer Philippa was diagnosed with, is one of the deadliest forms of blood cancer, that’s why research into better, kinder treatments is so urgently needed.

“Every pound raised by pupils, staff and families at Duchy College will help us continue our work to improve the lives of people affected by blood cancer and ultimately bring forward the day when we beat blood cancer. We’re really looking forward to working with the whole school community over the year ahead and seeing what we can achieve together.”