31 May 2025
St Columba’s College spent the last day of half-term raising money for Annabelle’s Challenge, a charity supporting people with vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (vEDS).
Vascular EDS is a rare genetic connective tissue disorder, which is characterised by fragile blood vessels and internal organs. It affects around one in 100,000-200,000 people.
Students at St Columba’s were asked to wear red clothing to help raise awareness of the condition, which has affected student Hugo since he was a toddler.
Hugo recently attended the annual Vascular EDS Conference in Bury, which helps to bring together patients and families affected by the condition to share their experiences.
In total, the college raised £1,000, and headmaster Karl Guest said: “The college’s charism tells us of the importance of compassion and the need for an open heart – to respond to the challenges that affect our school community. This has been a wonderful opportunity to educate our young people further about vEDS, and raise money for a wonderful charity.”
