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Fundraiser for school on Britain's most notorious estate smashes £100k target

A view of Broadwater Farm estate, also referred to as "The Farm", in Tottenham, north London.
A view of Broadwater Farm estate, also referred to as "The Farm", in Tottenham, north London.

A crowdfunder set up to help children on Britain’s most notorious estate has smashed its £100,000 target in the space of a day after it was featured in The Sunday Times magazine at the weekend.

The Willow School and Broadwaters' Children's Centre is located on the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham, north London, where PC Keith Blakelock was murdered during a riot in 1985.

The estate, which was built in 1973 and is made up of 12 tower blocks comprising more than 1,000 dwellings, also saw disturbances during the 2011 unrest after police shot dead Mark Duggan, a suspected gang member who lived there.

The feature in the magazine focused on the concerns of parents on the estate, who fear letting their children out of the house during the six-week summer holidays due to the high levels of gang crime and violence on ‘The Farm’.

PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN PICTURES OF THE RIOT IN TOTTENHAM TAKEN SATURDAY AUGUST 6.  Riot police patrol the streets in Tottenham, north London as trouble flared after members of the community took to the streets to demand "justice", after Mark Duggan, 29, was shot dead by police on Thursday.
Riot police patrol the streets in Tottenham, north London as trouble flared after Mark Duggan, 29, was shot dead by police in 2011

The local Willow Primary School, which was rated outstanding by Ofsted in 2017, provides 500 children from the estate with a “haven” during term-time but during the holidays working parents have nowhere to leave their children during the day.

“My team and I are already dreading the moment we have to shut the school gates for the six-week summer holiday,” Dawn Ferdinand, the school’s head teacher, told The Sunday Times. “For so many children living in these conditions, school is their anchor. Alongside learning, it is the place where they are fed and can play safely while their parents work.

“We have tried desperately to find a way to stay open, but, even with the lowest subsidised day rate, it adds up to more than many Broadwater Farm parents could dream of affording,” she says. “Many of our families are being fed on as little as £35 a week. Some of our children will rarely venture outside this summer.”

The Sunday Times publicised a JustGiving page at the end of the feature which seeks to raise money for a summer play experience: various activities that they could pay for include £200 to take 30 children swimming, £300 to fund a summer outing to an art gallery or a museum and £2,500 to support 10 of the most vulnerable children to attend a local summer play scheme.

As of 10.30am on Monday, more than £138,815 had been raised, surging past the £100,000 total on Sunday night. Almost 1,900 separate donations have been made, with an average of £80.

Ms Ferdinand posted on the page on Sunday: “Thank you so much for your very generous contributions and words of support. Your gifts will transform the school holiday experience for many of our families. I am overwhelmed by your generosity. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.”

Matt Rudd, the deputy editor of the magazine, tweeted that: “Transformation is what we can do with this level of contribution. Honestly makes me proud to work for my newspaper.”

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