Fundraising campaign launched to help family of Brackley teacher who is terminally ill

A fundraising campaign has been launched to help the family of a Brackley teacher who is terminally ill with bowel cancer.

Friends are more than 75 per cent of the way towards the £100,000 fundraising target to make sure the family of Chris Leach is provided for in the future.

If you would like to contribute to the campaign to help Chris and his family you can use the following Just Giving web link: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/katharine-pooleyFriends who launched the campaign for Chris and family posted the following heartfelt message on the fundraising page: "In November last year, Chris Leach experienced a loss of sensation to his face and left hand and went to hospital.

"After a week of tests and investigations he was told that he has bowel cancer which has also spread to his brain. It is inoperable and despite enduring radiotherapy there is no hope and chemotherapy can do nothing, not even prolong the time he has left. He has been told that he has a very short time to live – weeks rather than months.

"Chris is a devoted and loving family man who delights in his children. He is also a creative and inspirational teacher at Winchester House where he has worked for the last 11 years and is head of ICT and the Pupil Progress Reporter. He is well loved by his pupils and respected by his peers.

"It is a testimony to the sort of man he is that he and his family have an amazing and supportive network of caring friends, family, pupils, parents and colleagues who are providing food, childcare and moral support to them in their hour of need.

"In the short term he and his family are being well looked after, but it is the needs of his family in the longer term that are a constant worry to Chris.

"The family currently live in rented accommodation at Winchester House School in Brackley. Whilst the school is being incredibly supportive of the family, the time will come for the family to move on and Chris' wife Tracey and their children won't have a home of their own.

"Chris’ last wish is to know that his family will have some security in the form of their own home. He knows that it is going to be really hard for them and he is desperate to do all he can to help. Knowing that they have a secure base for the future will enable him to have some peace.

"We would like to aim to raise as much money as is possible by the 15th February so that Tracey can put down a deposit on a house for her and the children and to give her a bit of financial security in the months ahead.

"Chris is getting weaker by the day and time is of the essence. Ideally Chris would like to move into the new home with his family before he gets too weak so that they can all have memories of him living there with them even though this will be for a very short time. This is particularly important for his children who are all so heart-breakingly young.

"Knowing that his family has a permanent and secure roof over their head will make Chris’ last days more bearable for him and give Tracey and the children some stability as they face life without him. The children will be able to stay in the schools they are settled in and keep the friends they have made.

"Life is never fair, but this is a particularly brutal story, so please if you are able to give a donation to help this family, we would be so very grateful.

"Even in this incredibly difficult time for us all, if you could please make any donation at all it will all be hugely appreciated and enable us to make a huge impact on the lives of this family who have already suffered so much. They need your help."