Purple flowers bloom at St Katherine's School as part...

St Katherine’s School has joined Rotary International in its campaign to eradicate polio around the world for good.

As part of Rotary’s ‘Purple 4 Polio’ campaign, students planted crocus bulbs donated by the Rotary Club of Clifton in the school grounds.   Despite the best efforts of the snow in early March the purple flowers burst into bloom.  Developed in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society, the campaign uses a purple crocus as its symbol to represent the purple dye used to mark the finger of a child who has been immunised.

Rotary has been committed to the eradication of polio across the world for over 30 years.  In that time the amount of countries where polio is endemic has dropped from 125 to just one.  Over 2.5 billion children have received vaccinations thanks to Rotary and recent support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Justin Humphreys, St Katherine’s Head of School said,

“We were delighted to support Rotary’s Purple4Polio campaign and the purple crocuses were a colourful, cheerful addition to the school flowerbeds.  At St Katherine’s we encourage our students to consider how they can be active members of the community and make an impact on the world.   This campaign has helped them learn about the challenges their peers face around the world and consider how even a small action, such as planting bulbs, can make a difference.”