Warwick Academy's campaign to raise funds for the new gym has just gotten a $2,000 boost ? from an 11 year old.

Zachary Marshall, the grandson of former Warwick Academy headmaster Dr. Joseph "Zackie" Marshall, recently donated $2,170 to the school, money he made by designing and selling Warwick Academy Christmas T-shirts.

A student in Year Seven at the school, Zachary explained he had to do a community service project in his Health class. "I thought I'd use my talent to come up with this T-shirt to raise money for the building fund," he said.

Zachary, who wants to be a cartoonist, incorporated the school's crest and mascot ? a bear ? onto the T-shirt, which shows the bear decorating a Christmas tree piled with presents. "I thought I'd make the bear more child-friendly," he said.

After selling close to 200 T-shirts for $15 each, he donated the entire net profits to the school. His previous experience in art included beginning on illustrations for a book on diabetes.

"It's a great effort on the part of one young kid who wanted to assist with this development," said Warwick Academy headmaster Robert Lennox. "The gym and changing rooms are costing around $5 and a half million, and every dollar really does count."

Ground was broken for the new gym, changing rooms and two classrooms in May, 2003. Completion on the classrooms and changing rooms is expected by September, 2004, while the gym itself is expected to be complete by December 2004.

Student tours of the construction site were expected to begin on Wednesday to allow the students a chance to see first-hand how much progress is being made on the new gym.

The project is the third in a four-phase building development at the school. The first two phases included the primary school building and the Sixth Form Centre, both now completed, while the fourth will be the construction of a new music block. The old gym is slated to be turned into a lecture hall.

The current gym, Morgan's Hall, was built in 1924 and is too small for most gymnasium activities ? such as basketball or volleyball. The school's assembly hall has been used as an alternative gym, however constant set up and break down of equipment has caused damage in the hall.

While Warwick Academy has borrowed some money for the development, the majority is being raised through fundraising. Students kicked off the fundraising efforts in 1999 by collecting $32,000 in a coin drive ? an amount which was then matched by the Bank of Bermuda. "They started the ball rolling," said Mr. Lennox.

Though the fund-raising problem could have been solved by simply increasing school fees, director of development Nancy Steynour said the school wanted to preserve its diversity. "If you raise the fees, the school risks becoming less accessible to everyone," she said.

"This is the biggest need the school has had ? new facilities," said Mr. Lennox. "Especially a new gym. I commend Zachary for his initiative."