Students at Saltus Grammar School came together to help the nearby St John’s Anglican Church, donating more than $2,800 for work on the church’s tower.

The tower — erected in 1835 — has suffered as a result of both age and a series of hurricanes in recent years, leading the church to launch a $300,000 restoration project.

Jon Beard, Deputy Head at the school, noted that the school and the church have had a long history of working together.

“St John’s Church has been used by Saltus for many, many years,” he said.

“Traditionally, it has been used for end-of-school assemblies, carol services and prize-givings — and once was used for the school’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

“Until our numbers grew, we used to have the secondary prize-giving in the St John’s Church Hall. In the fire at Saltus in 1977, we lost the school hall, and, for over a term, daily assemblies were held in the church.

“Our affiliation with the church is further strengthened by the fact that our founder, Samuel Saltus, is buried there and the annual Founder’s Day service is held in St John’s before flowers are placed at his grave.”

At the end of January, the school held a grub day with the goal of raising funds to help the church repair the historic tower, raising $2,860.37 — all of which was donated to the cause.

Senator James Jardine, who was among those who accepted the cheque on behalf of the church, said: “We are extremely grateful for every donation we get, and we were very pleased that the school did this completely on their own.

“We had planned to ask them to help, but on their own they decided they were going to do this to support us. The work is going great. It’s proceeding according to plan and, so far, no problems have arisen. We are hoping to finish by the end of February or early March.”