Belhaven Hill School’s amazing fundraiser for air ambulance

Belhaven Hill School’s pupils and staff took part in an ambitious whole school sponsored walk, raising £10,000 for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA).

 All 141 five to 13-year-olds and staff at the boarding and day school, had to climb ‘The Belhaven Three Peaks’ –  North Berwick Law, Traprain Law and Belhaven Hill.

Belhaven had been inspired by the life’s work of the late John Bullough, a godparent of one of the pupils, and the founding chairman of Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, which had been adopted as the charity for the spring term. The goal was to raise enough funds to purchase a new helicopter helmet costing about £5,000 for one of the helicopter crew.

With each Belhaven year group assigned an age-appropriate distance that would prove challenging yet achievable, the whole school ascended North Berwick Law together. Accompanied and encouraged by two SCAA mascots, a pilot bear and an energetic helicopter, the eldest walkers then set out along the John Muir Way en route to East Linton and Traprain Law.

This summer term, Belhaven’s charitable focus turns to its chosen international charity, Kids Operating Room: the whole school will be camping in the grounds of Belhaven, with the support of ‘The Wild Outdoors’.

During the course of the 2023-24 year, the small independent East Lothian school hopes to have raised about £13,000 for three healthcare providers, Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, SCAA and KidsOR, Belhaven’s local, national and international charities.