Deputy head leaps into charity work
THE King’s School’s deputy head Richard Griffiths took the plunge when he completed a bungee jump in aid of The Christie.
As a black belt in karate, the Cambridge English graduate is not one to be easily scared, but even he admitted to a nervous moment before his leap off a 160 foot crane at Salford Quays.
Richard said the idea arose from the Macclesfield school’s annual fashion show when a parent donated a bungee jump voucher to raise extra sponsorship.
He said: “I was approached and before I knew it I had volunteered, but that was six months ago and really up until the day arrived, indeed, until being taken up to the platform, I had successfully parked any notion of jumping out into the great blue yonder. Then stupidly I looked down and I did get a brief attack of nerves.”
However Richard, who is responsible for academic affairs at King’s, was not be put off. He said: “To one side I could see Old Trafford, and as a lifelong Manchester United supporter it gave me the necessary courage not to freeze.
“It was incredibly exhilarating to be plummeting down to earth and I am so grateful to the fashion show organisers for giving me this opportunity. I did let out a little scream on the way down, but not through fear, more through excitement.
“As you can see from the pictures I was smiling on the way down and for hours afterwards.”
The jump was all the more poignant for Richard as his own father was treated at the Christie.
He said: “I took my dad to The Christie when he went for treatment so I know first-hand what an amazing job they do and the vital help and treatment they can offer. The chance to help in raising money for them was something I wouldn’t have missed for the world.”
Richard’s jump added £1,200 to the King’s fashion show Christie collection, with the event now surpassing a record £5,000.
The fashion show was organised by King’s Sixth Form students Jennifer Johnson and Sophie Hancock.
The sell-out event had an audience of around 300 students and parents and saw more than 50 young men and women dance and strut down the catwalk.
Richard said: “It is a privilege to be part of the fashion show. It takes months of planning and so many local businesses join in and I think it shows the King’s community at its very best.”