Staffordshire school creates charity Christmas video in memory of Stephen Sutton

Fair Oak Academy in Rugeley is hoping the video will go viral and help raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust for Stephen, who passed away in May this year.

Stephen's story went global and the 19-year-old from Burntwood became a sensation for his upbeat attitude and refusal to give up after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Miss Rachael Sandham, director of design at the school, said: "For the past few years we have done one of these Christmas videos every year and they are so much fun for parents and pupils, as well as staff.

"For the previous videos we did we struggled to get all the staff together but when we decided to do it in memory of Stephen they all rallied around and gave up their own time after school to help."

The video shows Principal David Powell sitting in his office and flicking through popular music videos from this year, including Pharrell Williams' Happy, the popular John Lewis advert and the controversial Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball video.

Miss Sandham said: "Mr Powell is leaving after this term and he was such a good sport, he got very involved and it was a lot of fun.

"We also had a pupil, 11-year-old Cole Parker, get involved as a reward for his exceptional performance this year, he stars as the little boy in our parody of the John Lewis advert with the penguin."

Other songs parodied include Band Aid and Taylor Swift's Shake it Off, complete with ballerina costumes.

Miss Sandham said: "The staff were so supportive and the Sutton family have given it their blessing.

"We were so happy to do it in memory of Stephen because his is such an amazing story - it is hard to imagine what he went through and yet he never gave up.

"We did it so we are able to show the pupils the importance of never giving up and what they are able to do when they put their minds to something."

To donate to the school's Stephen Sutton appeal go to https://www.justgiving.com/Rachael-Sandham or text FAIR99 £3 to 70070.