Copland Community School student organised event in memory of her late uncle

A Neasden student raised hundreds of pounds for a cancer charity by organising a night of entertainment in memory of her late great-uncle.

Sophia Leiper, who lives in St Raphael’s Way, masterminded the event which took place in Copland Community School in Cecil Avenue, Wembley, yesterday (Wednesday) - in aid of Cancer Research UK.

The 16-year-old, who is student at the school, thought up the idea after her great uncle Hristo Dimitrov lost a brave battle with pancreatic cancer last Christmas.

She said: “The main aim was to raise awareness for what is a very important to many people.”

Dance troupes and singers entertained a hundred strong crowd which included Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent North, and Cllr Aslam Choudry, Mayor of Brent,

Students and staff were required to pay �3 to enter and purchase a raffle ticket meaning �300 has been raised so far with donations still coming in thick and fast.

The kind-hearted teenager said: “I’m very proud, we didn’t set ourselves a target but we are very pleased with the response so far.”

Local business including Brent Park Tesco and Nando’s in Wembley High Road also got involved with the restaurant offering a family meal to the raffle winner and the supermarket providing �50 worth of refreshments.

Sophia said: “I would like to dedicate this to my late great uncle, Hristo Dimitrov.

“We were all very close with him, so I wanted to do something to honour his memory.”