Knitting school boy raise hundreds of pounds for charity

Charles spent hours knitting 1.2km of rope to help Covid volunteers

A kind-hearted pupil from Maple Hayes School has raised hundreds of pounds for charity by knitting a ball of rope.

Charles Liquorish was the only cadet at his St John Ambulance cadet unit to receive a special COVID-19 response badge for his fundraising efforts during the pandemic.

The 13-year-old was able to raise £549 by knitting the rope using the French Knitting or Spool technique which is a form of knitting that uses a spool with a number of nails around the rim to produce a narrow tube of fabric.

Charles, who has been at the Lichfield-based school for around four years, got the idea during the pandemic when he wanted to challenge himself and also raise some money for people who were volunteering and providing the vaccine.

He explored some ideas and spotted the idea in the Guinness Book of World Records so took to creating the rope.

His mum Jane said: “Initially he wanted to raise £50 and he likes French Knitting. He had wanted to try and break the world record but that is around 20 miles, so instead we decided to try for half a mile and see how he got on. So he got knitting and it all just spireled from there. 

“He started with a few bits of wool that we already had and when friends and neighbours heard about his efforts, they started bringing him wool as well. It ended up using hundreds of balls of wool and being incredibly long. So long in fact that he was knitting it out of his window and it was dangling down the side of the house. 

“People started sponsoring him and also donating money by posting it through the door, when we saw them in the street, over the garden fence and also online. It was incredible and was quite a sight to see. So he kept knitting until he ran out of wool,” she added.

The 1.2km long piece of rope was measured when the family were given access to Derbyshire County Cricket Ground which was closed at the time due to the covid restrictions, and it wrapped around the pitch three and a half times and used around 800  balls of wool to create.

Jane added: “He is such a thoughtful boy and he likes to help and doesn’t like to see people struggling. Him being a part of St John Ambulance and also being at the school has done wonders for him.”

Charles joined Maple Hayes Dyslexia School in Year 7 and has flourished there ever since.

“Before he got to the school he couldn’t remember his date of birth, he couldn’t even read the word cat or even write his own name. But within just a term his writing improved immensely and he has done so well not just in his skills but also with his confidence, it’s incredible to see,” she said.

Charles, who spent around four hours a day on the challenge, now wants to try and create a blanket from the rope.

Dr Daryl Brown, headteacher at Maple Haye said: “Charles did such a great job and we are all incredibly proud of him. We are pleased that he was rewarded for his efforts with the badge from St John Ambulance and was so dedicated to the cause.”