[S]tudents from Furness College have sent a book of condolence to the college where one of the victims of the recent Manchester bombing studied.
They have paid tribute to 18-year-old Runshaw College student Georgina Callander and written messages of comfort to her fellow students and college staff.
Georgina was a health and social care student at Runshaw College, a further and higher education college based in Lancashire, and was one of 22 people who lost their lives in the bombing in May.
Furness College Chaplain Reverend Robin Ham said students from both the Rating Lane and Channelside campuses had left messages in the book.
“When we heard about Georgina and that she was part of a college not dissimilar to ours, we just felt this would be a meaningful way of showing our support to the community at Runshaw,” he said. “Students here have obviously been profoundly impacted by the event.
“I think particularly with these tragic events being so close to home, and at a venue many of us have been to, there’s that surreal feeling that this could have been someone in your family, someone you know.
“A friend serves as a chaplain at Runshaw and, although we’ve seen other national tragedies since this one, for the families and friends of those who lost their lives in Manchester, the heartbreak and grief won’t go away anytime soon. We all want to say we’re still standing with you.”
Furness College Principal and Chief Executive Andrew Wren said some of the students who signed the book had been at the concert that night.
“As a college community we wanted to extend our heartfelt sympathy to everyone at Runshaw College and for them to know that our thoughts continue to be with them as they deal with the devastating effects of the attack at the Manchester Arena.”
