198 Wellington College students sign up to the stem cell register

Every year, around 2000 people in the UK need a stem cell transplant. Earlier this month, 198 sixth formers at Wellington College took part in a major act of service by adding their names to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register.

When Martin Burke from the Anthony Nolan Trust spoke to the sixth form ahead of the registration, he spoke about heroism: ‘15 Wellingtonians have been awarded the Victoria Cross’, he noted, something that told him a lot ‘about the ethos of the College’. Mr Burke went on to talk about the importance of stem cell donation in saving the lives of people with serious forms of blood cancer. 100 lives have been saved since the Anthony Nolan programme began, with six donors coming from one school – statistics that underlined the point that ‘numbers matter’.

The overwhelming response from the Wellington students owes a lot to the drive and determination of Guy Williams, Head of Sixth Form. Mr Williams encouraged students to ‘support each another, congratulate each other, and buy into this as a group’, and that is exactly what they did: 198 names have been added to the register, increasing the chances of a match being found, increasing the likelihood of a life being saved.

During a week in which we celebrated acts of kindness and welcomed Johnson Beharry VC for the WCPCI’s Remembrance Lecture, the actions of our sixth formers demonstrate the importance of our college values, particularly the values of courage and kindness. As Julian Thomas commented in The Master’s Voice, ‘perhaps the real impact is felt when courage and kindness combine’.