'Incredible' pupils help ex-teacher after crash

Pupils and staff at a school are trying to raise thousands of pounds to help a former teacher after he was badly hurt in a crash.

Former maths teacher Suhkraj Dhami, 53, suffered a dislocated neck and other serious injuries when a car collided with his bike in June 2023.

Cleo Abberley, who teaches at Coundon Court School, Coventry, is leading the efforts to raise just under £16,000 to help him after the crash and said their pupils were enthusiastic to get involved.

"They've done some incredible things," she added.

The school held an assembly to let pupils know about Mr Dhami's situation and how they could help.

"One of the big things we spoke about was being there to support each other as part of our community here at Coundon," she added.

"It really resonated with them because, in the assemblies, we said: 'How would you feel if you weren't just even able to access your own bedroom, when you wanted to?'"

Mr Dhami spent more than nine months in hospital and, after returning home, struggled to use the upstairs part of his house as he uses a wheelchair after the crash.

The fundraising drive is aimed at paying for a lift to be installed for him and Ms Abberley said it was after a colleague told her of the former teacher's situation that led them to decide to help.

'Obviously [the crash] touched a lot of our staff and students at the time," she said.

"One of our history teachers bumped into me and said she'd been to see Mr Dhami and whether we could do anything to help or support them."

So far they have raised nearly half of the target and more events are planned in the coming weeks.

'We're looking to run a book competition within the school where we have students write poetry," Ms Abberley said.

"Then we're looking to get the book published.

"We've also been approached by a member of staff, who is part of a rock choir, as they might be willing to put on a concert for us.

"We're looking at doing a sponsored dance-a-thon [and] some of our students in the Army cadets want to do a sponsored walk.

A local pub, The Nugget, has also come forward with an offer to help and will hold a family fun day on 29 June.

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