WHEN the former caretaker of Rednock School, Bob Cotton, was killed in the Paddington train disaster two years ago the school's India friendship club set about creating a project in his memory. Club founder Jenny Parsons here explains the development of a project which has resulted in a living memorial to the caretaker, and a much-needed school being built for children in India.

THE Bob Cotton Junior School has been a project of the Rednock School India Friendship Club in memory of our former caretaker.

He had always shown an interest in the work of the India Friendship Club at Rednock and he left instructions that, in the event of his death, money raised at his funeral should be donated to the club.

The money was put into a special fund and our original intention was to use it to bring Indian children from Rednock's partner school in India, St Andrews's, to the UK for an exchange with Rednock students.

The first part of the exchange went ahead in 2000, and was funded privately by the students who took part from their own fundraising.

The visit was extremely successful but it was not possible to persuade our Indian counterparts to bring a return party to Dursley. We then came up with the idea of the Bob Cotton Junior School.

Our funds were boosted by the generosity of Pam Warren, organiser of the Paddington Survivors Group. Pam received the Unison award for citizenship and donated half her substantial award to the Bob Cotton Memorial Project.

Bob's widow, Angela, and Bob's parents gave the go ahead for the project and work started under the auspices of former Technical School Principal, Mrs Dorothy Ebenezer, who had been instrumental in originally setting up the partnership between Rednock and St Andrew's.

The first attempt at setting up the school failed because it was city based and all the subscribers were fee payers from fairly well off families.

Mrs Ebenezer decided to change the remit of the project and set up the Bob Cotton School in a village about 40 miles from Hyderbad where there was previously no school for the children.

The village has major problems associated with poverty, illiteracy and poor health but The Bob Cotton Junior School is now providing a wonderful service for the community.

Teachers have been recruited locally and there are 30 children in the school. One of the classrooms has been designated for adult education, providing much needed skills. Trees have been planted in the vicinity and each child has been given a chilli plant and a tomato plant as their responsibility.

Some of the red uniforms have been made and a swing, see saw and merry go round have been provided for the playtimes.

So far all this has been achieved with remarkably little money, just £2,500 has been sent out to India.

The land was given by local people and Mrs Ebenezer has put some of her own money into the project.

Although the school has been built the project will continue to grow and expand.

During the last academic year Rednock students have been collecting books and equipment to be shipped out to India for use in the school.

We have enough to fill a very large crate and now we just hope the materials will be transported safely to the right address.

Bob's wife Angela told me she felt the school was exactly the sort of project he would have been very interested in.

He was always concerned about the poor and under privileged and this school is in an area where it is desperately needed.

We are delighted the project has been such a success and is such a fitting memorial to Bob.