School holds charity event in memory of year 10 student Bobby who recently died

Councillor Bill Gavan was the guest of honour at Dudley Port School on Thursday as part of the charity day for teenager Bobby.

The Mayor joined in with washing a car with some of the students, then was taken on a tour around the school, which meets the needs of a diverse group of pupils with a range of complex needs including Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH), and met other students.

He also made a donation to Autism Awareness, the charity the day was in aid of, and headteacher Simon Hobbs said the visit was really important to the school.

He said: "It was such an important visit for us as we've had a lot of changes at the school recently and what has happened recently is a bit of a turning point as it was particularly tragic, but shows that we are trying to engage the community a lot more and celebrate achievements.

"Although this event was done in tragic circumstances, a lot of our students have rallied and put a lot of time and effort into the event and Bobby's memorial, as well as raising money for the charity.

"It meant that we could celebrate that in the school and have the Lord Mayor there and we were able to celebrate with the community as well."

Mr Hobbs said the school worked with some very vulnerable students from across Sandwell and said that having the Mayor at the school was a big deal for them as they could meet him, shake his hand and ask him about his ceremonial chains.

He said the students had got a lot out of the Mayor being there and offered words of thanks to Councillor Gavan for coming to the school and giving his support.

He said: "Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to come and visit us as we're only a small school and it was really important to have you there.

"Thank you as well to the local community for their support and rallying around to raise £400 for the charity which, in such a sad time, was fantastic and very much appreciated."