A BRAVE boy who was born 11 weeks early has helped to raise £3,000 for the hospital which supported him.

When Caleb Gosling-Fincham, five, was born 11 weeks early, doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital gave him a 50-50 chance of survival.

Partly inspired by this, Powers Hall Infant School in Witham decided the hospital should be its chosen charity for this year.

Pupils raised £3,136, of which little Caleb raised £400 with the help of his mum Rachel, 26.

She said: “Caleb was premature and he was very poorly and was under all different hospitals.

He still is so people give a bit more due to what he goes through.

“He has complications that will be for life but he is strong.

“Caleb has suffered quite a bit. He has a hole in his heart, a stoma bag and his back is not fixed.

“He knows money raised for the hospital will help buy machines and toys for the children. I have family and friends who know Caleb’s background so they tend to give a little bit more.

“Caleb will do his own fundraising as he gets older to say thankyou to people who have helped him, like Stoma Care and heart charities, but this is the first one he has done with the school and he does love it there.”

The children choose a charity each year to help them understand that giving even a little can help those who are less fortunate.

Headteacher Claire Jaques said: “We had a visit by a representative of the charity to start us off in September.

“During the year each year group has held events such as a sponsored welly walk, a sponsored scooter ride, tea and cake for parents and the creation of a poetry book for parents.

“We also held collections at the end of our Christmas performances for Great Ormond Street.

“We currently have 265 children on roll aged between three and seven and it is thanks to the huge generosity of their parents and families that we have been able to raise this amount.”