The national shortage of PPE during the coronavirus pandemic has caused concern for us all. When Eynsham Medical Practise asked for help, Bartholomew School supplied them with their stock of safety googles.
Soon realising they could help the local community further, the Head of Design & Technology, Tim Nash and his team then repurposed the D&T classroom and have since been making batches of visors, headbands and laundry bags for NHS workers. Headteacher Craig Thomas has used social media to connect with local medical practises, care homes and hospitals to identify a need and has been making regular deliveries.
Local mobile phone repair company iRepairTech answered a plea on Twitter for materials. Their generous donation of polypropylene has enabled production to continue. Mr Thomas explains: “As long as there is a need and the means to help, the school hopes to continue to do their bit to support the national effort to beat coronavirus and help us all get back to normal again.”
Rich Hikins, iRepairTech founder and Chief Technical Officer said: “With our daughter due to start Bartholomew in September we had started to follow the school’s social media. During the crisis we saw the excellent work that they were doing in making masks for health care professionals across Oxfordshire. We then also saw the post saying they had the people, equipment and skill but no materials. I managed to source a reasonable amount of polypropylene for them. My wife Sherryn and I took the decision to do our little bit, so we paid for the product and a courier to collect it. It was a small token of our appreciation for what they are doing!”