Captain Sir Tom's grandson and Bedford School pupil wins prestigious national award

Bedford School pupil Benjie Ingram-Moore - the grandson of the inspirational Captain Sir Tom Moore - has been recognised for his work on the phenomenal £38.9million fundraiser with a prestigious award.

He has now been unveiled as the winner of the Rising Star category in the 2020 Independent School of the Year awards.

Benjie played an important role in his grandad walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday, with the aim of raising £1,000 for the NHS.

The lower sixth student said: “I have been absolutely blown away by how life has changed over the past five months or so.

“During this time, I was lucky enough to go to Windsor Castle and meet the Queen for grandad’s investiture and meet the likes of David Beckham and Michael Ball, which is just incredible. They are all experiences I never thought would happen.

Benjie, who set up a Twitter account which gained a following of more than 75,000 in a week, secured a much-coveted spot on The Michael Ball Show on BBC Radio 2 and messages of support from celebrities including Dame Kelly Holmes, Lord Sugar and Jason Donovan.

He also worked with his family to gain the support of BBC Breakfast and Piers Morgan at Good Morning Britain for Sir Tom’s exploits.

James Hodgson, head master of Bedford School, said: “We are incredibly proud of Benjie; he has always been a rising star. It’s an absolute delight that he has been recognised in this way.”

For Sir Tom’s 100th birthday, Bedford School’s Great Hall was turned into a sorting office, with more than 100 pupils, parents, staff and Old Bedfordians volunteering to set aside envelopes and separate gifts, cheques and donations.