A donation of a baby panda cub from Cambridge's first Wild in Art sculpture trail to feature pandas will help keep children undergoing treatment in hospital stay connected to the outside world, says the head of the school which has received the gift.
The Panda Meander trail was launched earlier this year – with funds set to transform projects across children’s services at Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, including helping to build the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital.
Set to hit the streets of Cambridge in the Spring, the trail will run from March 20th through to May 30th, taking in the whole of Easter and both Bank Holiday Mondays.
Thirty giant panda sculptures will take visitors along a route that features some of Cambridge's most iconic landmarks. ACT's media partner for Panda Meander, Cambridge Independent, will next year publish a special pull-out map and guide which will feature the route and include stories and information about the hero sculpture and other designs.
In addition to the giant pandas, there will also be some 30 plus mini panda sculptures – 'cubs' as they are being referred to – which will also feature as part of the trail. All of these will be decorated by local schools and youth community groups as part of ACT's Learning and Community Programme, sponsored by Prologis, making the trail accessible to all. All of the cubs will be homed in indoor locations including the Grand Arcade and the Museum of Zoology.
It is one of these cubs that has been donated to the Pilgrims Pathway school, where teachers work with young patients in Addenbrooke's to ensure they don't fall behind with schoolwork during their treatment.
Panda Meander is ACT's first Wild in Art sculpture trail – bringing an array of individually-designed pandas to Cambridge, decorated by artists across Cambridge and the UK.
ACT's Lead Trail Partner, Cheffins, this week donated a panda cub to Pilgrim Pathways School, reinforcing their ongoing support for children's services at Addenbrooke's and the new Cambridge Children's Hospital, following their £212,000 donation to the charity last year which will see a brand-new, permanent playroom built at the new children's hospital, leaving a lasting legacy for the region in what was the company's 200th anniversary year.
The Pilgrim Pathways School provides support to school-aged children aged between 4 and 18 with complex physical or mental health needs who are undergoing treatment in hospital, as well as at other medical facilities. Their teachers also work with home-based students, aged 12-18, who are unable to attend school due to complex mental health conditions.
Headteacher Nadine Gooding-Herber said: "At Addenbrookes we work in oncology, neurorehabilitation (road traffic accidents, stroke recovery, serious falls), children who have long-term gastro problems, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell to name a few. In mental health we see a lot of students with high levels of anxiety, eating disorders, depression, OCD, self-harm and suicidal ideation. Many of our students have high level of SEND and many have experienced significant levels of trauma."
Welcoming the donation of the panda cub from Cheffins, Nadine said it meant a lot for her students to be remembered during such a challenging and difficult time in their lives.
"All of them face significant barriers to education and are at risk of becoming completely disengaged with education without specialist educational support."
Explaining why the donation means so much to the school, Nadine said: "Our children and young people often miss out on the more normative aspects of school life, such as enrichment or whole school events, including event such as coming together towards a common art project such as the Panda Cub.
"Being held in mind through the gift from Cheffins and given the opportunity to take part in a joined art initiative helps our children and young people to stay connected to the wider life and the part of their life that is unwell."
Nadine said the school offers art and music to pupils because it recognises that creative engagement and self-expression is key to building a child's identity and confidence.
She said the school is working on a plan to involve as many of their young people across all of its physical and mental health sites, including outreach.
"We will involve our young people in the design of the panda and will ask them to contribute to the Panda something which is meaningful to them and their life journey, probably a collection of vignettes around a theme," she said, adding that once the trail is finished the school will rotate it around its different sites - "providing the panda has enough space to live happily, so that our children and young people can enjoy and interact with it."
Eight-year-old student, Ava, who lives in St Ives, had a chance to cuddle the panda cub – calling them 'Emily' and saying she would decorate it with lots of glitter if it was her design.
Ava - who describes herself as a 'singer in the making' and who wants to be a make-up artist and singer when she grows up - has been a pupil at the Pilgrims Pathway School at Addenbrooke's for several months now, since being diagnosed with leukaemia in November last year.
Mum Jess said: "When it all started it was very fast-paced because they had to put her feeding tube in, her Hickman line, they put all the drugs in... She lost her hair within three weeks. She put weight on because of the steroids she was on and lost her personality. Everyone said 'she will come back' but you never believe it but they see it all the time here. She's fully back now, full on sass!"
Ava's symptoms began last year with a limp that wouldn't go away but it was a blood test in hospital that revealed she had leukaemia. Now in remission, Ava receives maintenance treatment for the leukaemia and is expected to ring the bell, to say she is cancer-free, in January 2028 – with Jess thanking hospital staff, family and friends for all their support.
Handing their donation of their panda cub to Ava and Nadine in the Jubilee Gardens, at Addenbrooke's, Sarah Bush, Head of Residential, at Cheffins said: "As Lead Trail Partner for Panda Meander, we wanted to find another way to support the project and the children and young people at the heart of it. Donating a cub panda to the hospital school felt like a wonderful opportunity to help bring creativity, enjoyment and a sense of connection to children spending time in hospital."
“We know that many children receiving treatment in hospital are facing one of the most challenging periods of their lives. While hospital staff work tirelessly to provide the very best care, opportunities to learn, create and express themselves can make a real difference to a child's experience, and memories, of their time in hospital. We hope our panda will inspire imagination, bring moments of joy and help pupils leave their own mark on a project that will be enjoyed by thousands of people across Cambridge.”
“Children’s Services and the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital is a cause that is very close to our hearts. We have already donated over £200,000 towards building a playroom at the new children’s hospital so our gift of a panda cub felt like a natural extension of that. We hope our cub will be especially meaningful for all of the young patients who attend the hospital school as pupils.”
Sophie Thomas, Cub Cub Leader, said: "We are hugely grateful to Cheffins and we’re so pleased young patients at Addenbrooke’s will have the chance to create their own special cub and be part of this exciting city-wide event."
"These generous corporate donations are helping schools and community groups be part of something truly special and I’m incredibly excited to see how our schools and community groups will bring their cubs to life, I am sure we shall see plenty of imagination and creativity!"
Georgia Pallett, ACT's Wild in Art Project Manager, said: “We're absolutely delighted that our Lead Trail Partner Cheffins has kindly decided to gift a panda cub to Pilgrims Pathway School so that they’re able to paint a smaller sculpture that will feature alongside other wonderful designs on our Spring 2027 public art trail, Panda Meander."
"Our Cub Club, which is Panda Meander’s Schools and Community Programme, is such an important part of the trail, giving schools and groups the opportunity to be involved in Wild in Art’s and Addenbrooke’s Charity very first panda trail, sparking creativity in our younger generation. It’s really important that Panda Meander is inclusive to all – we are working with both mainstream and SEND organisations as part of the Cub Club to bring imagination and colour to our local community, and with thanks to Cheffins’ kind gift to the hospital school, into the lives of children and families connected to our hospitals too.”
CAMBRIDGE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
The East of England is the only region in the UK without a specialist children’s hospital. This unique new hospital, to be built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, will be the first in the world to fully integrate the mental and physical health of young patients, alongside world-leading research. Construction is due to start next year, with building works set to complete by the end of 2030.
Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be spread over five floors and include 108 inpatient beds, 16 paediatric intensive care beds, 42 day-case beds, seven operating theatres, imaging and diagnostics, a hospital school and a 5,000 square metre research institute.
HOW SCHOOLS CAN SIGN UP
Panda Meander currently has over 33 Cub Cub members with a mix of schools and community groups including nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools - as well as Cambridge City Football Club.
Schools can design and paint their cubs exactly as they would like – with the one restriction of no 3D items in case they get damaged during transportation or during the trail.
ACT will host a Cub Club Inspiration Workshop on Thursday 15th October at Cambridge City Football Club. With a representative from each school and community group attending, the workshop will be an afternoon of ideas, creativity and practical advice on how to paint the cubs.
There is still time for schools to sign up – but they need to be quick! With just one week to go until sign up closes, schools and community groups can find out more by visiting: www.pandameander.co.uk/learning-and-community-programme
ACT is the official charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie and funds cutting-edge equipment, specialist staff, extra comforts and vital research above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide and is also raising money to help build both the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital and the Cambridge Children’s Hospital. To donate, please go to: www.act4addenbrookes.org.uk/donate