Last week we had the pleasure of attending a presentation at Sir James Calvert Spence College in Amble, where Sir Alan Craft spoke to a selection of sixth form students about their school’s namesake and his impact on modern day healthcare for children.

Teachers, governors and local councillors were also in attendance at the College as Sir Alan spoke about the healthcare pioneer for whom the school is named. As the former Sir James Spence Professor of Child Health at University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Prof. Craft also gave an inspiring history of his own career in paediatrics and his work with North of England Children’s Cancer Research (NECCR) - a charity intrinsically linked to Sir James Spence, who is credited with huge advances in Britain’s health and social care during the 20th century.

We’ve enjoyed a fantastic working relationship with the charity over the past eight years and every year we see new partners such as the school become involved with the fundraising, which is so vital to the research that has saved so many lives since the facility was set up over thirty years ago.

The College has become increasingly involved with fund raising for NECCR since it’s involvement with the Children’s Cancer Run this year; when a conversation between the school’s science teacher Janice Bailey and run organiser Tony Gilroy revealed the links between Sir James Spence and the charity.

Ms Bailey explained, “Tony mentioned that the building where the charity is based is also named for Sir James Spence and he explained a little about the reasons why.”

“Since taking part in the run we’ve pledged to raise as much money as possible for the NECCR fund and we were delighted that Sir Alan agreed to come and speak to our students to share Sir James Spence’s story. It was an excellent opportunity for them to learn about such a remarkable man from Amble, as well as to motivate them to do everything they can for an extremely worthwhile cause.”

Executive Head Teacher at JSCS Christine Graham commented, “Many of the students didn’t even know who James Spence was, never mind the outstanding legacy he has left. Our afternoon with Sir Alan was exceptional - it’s all too easy to think that only people from big cities or affluent backgrounds have the opportunity to make a difference in the world but hearing about the work of James Spence and what his work inspired Sir Alan to go on to achieve, has left the students feeling inspired to achieve everything they set their minds to. The first of which will be their participation in the Children’s Cancer Walk which takes place at Blagdon Estate in Northumberland next week.”

The exceptional level of healthcare that children enjoy today - particularly in the northeast - can be largely attributed to the ground-breaking work carried out by Sir James Spence, who was a pioneer in social paediatrics; demonstrating the inherent link between social class and health and wellbeing and therefore preventing illness caused by factors such as poor nutrition and inactive lifestyles.

Sir Alan, who regards Sir James Spence as a personal hero, spoke about the satisfaction of seeing significant medical advances throughout his own career in paediatric oncology, which includes his roles as Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and National President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He is one of the country’s leading experts in children’s health and medicine and has been a driving force behind the NECCR and it’s fund raising activities since he launched the research facility back in the 1970s.

He commented, “When I began my work in paediatric oncology mortality rates among young cancer sufferers were as high as 70-80%. Due to advances in research and drug therapy those percentages have dropped and the survival rate is now 85% on average.”

“This change can be linked to some amazing achievements throughout the scientific community, inspired by research and medical practice initiated by Sir James Spence, which is one of the many reasons why the chair of children’s health position at Newcastle’s RVI is named for him.”

The hard work undertaken at NECCR is completely subsidised by funding from various cancer research charities and the NECCR fund has contributed hugely to the facility for over 30 years. In fact, parents of patients established the NECCR fund in 1979, just after the Children’s Cancer unit opened at the RVI because whilst money was available for treatment, there was little to no funding for research.

These days the NECCR fund is supported throughout the year by events set up and run by generous supporters of the charity. This weekend the second annual Children’s Cancer Walk will take place, becoming the second biggest event on the charity’s calendar after the Children’s Cancer Run. Find out more about the walk here: www.neccr.org.uk/cancerwalk .

To read more about our work with NECCR take a look at our case study.