Schools blamed for apathy over hospital fight

Nicola was 13 when surgeons at Harefield, the internationally famous Cambridgeshire hospital, carried out the double transplant which saved her life in 1989.

Now 26 and mother of Megan, six, Nicola has rallied to help the hospital, which is threatened with closure on cost grounds.

Plans are to merge it with The Brompton Hospital, Paddington and centralise operations at the London unit.

In March Nicola wrote to 1,000 schools in the South of England, including every Bexhill School, asking each to hold a "mufti" day from which a donation could be made towards the hospital campaign.

She followed up her letters with visits to several schools to plead her case and has set up a registered charity "Heart of Harefield" for her fund-raising.

But Nicola was heartbroken that only one of the 1,000 schools she and two helpers contacted - a boys' grammar school in Tunbridge Wells - promised her support.

The rest, including all the Bexhill Schools, never even acknowledged her letter.

Nicola, who attended four Bexhill schools before she moved to Pevensey, said: "I'm very disappointed. It cost me 200 to write to the schools. Maybe they cannot fit it in this year."

Doreen Cronin, deputy head of St Richards Catholic College, Bexhill, said schools would need more time to respond. Charity projects were selected from a large number of requests and fitted into a hectic school curriculum.

She said: "We received Nicola's letter on April 9 after the school Easter break. We'll put her idea before a school council meeting later this month.

"We have many requests for donations. We received six in the last three weeks, including a "mufti day" request for St Michael's Hospice.

"We try not to have too many fund-raisers, or parents and pupils would feel overwhelmed with pleas for help.

"We've just had a mufti day, so this may have to wait awhile. It's up to the school council. We'd obviously love to help everyone. We've certainly not dismissed Nicola's letter. I'll write to her to explain.

Nicola, who is also organising a fund-raising concert at the De La Warr on November 9, said: "I quite understand, now I have heard the explanation."

*If anyone would like to help Nichola raise funds they should phone her on 01323 766689.