In line with our aim of meeting people at their point of need, it has become apparent that one of the needs is for better education for students who have illnesses that prevent them attending their regular schools. In England provision for such students is variable and in some cases not at all good. Many of these students are facing incredible difficulties and yet are still struggling to attain the qualifications they are studying for.

WWCOL Church Internet School uses a secure chat room where students can be taught and it gives them interaction with both peers and teachers.

ME (Myalgic Encephalopathy) sometimes known as CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) or PVS (Post Viral Syndrome) is a very debilitating illness. Below are a list of the symptoms associated with this illness

Muscle fatigue, pain (myalgia) and twitching (fasciculation).

Problems with short-term memory and concentration.

Clumsiness and disturbances with balance.

Sleep disturbance, especially waking unrefreshed.

Alcohol intolerance.

Constantly feeling unwell with flu-like symptoms

(e.g. sore throats, enlarged glands, joint pains)

and problems with temperature control.

Some people with ME/CFS also have irritable bowel symptoms

and become more prone to allergic illnesses.

Symptoms tend to fluctuate from day to day and are

usually made worse by undue physical or mental activity.

This is the story of one sufferer, sadly his case is not unusual, in 1999 it was estimated that there were 50,000 people in the UK suffering from ME, 25,000 of them children. Many of these children have suffered the same treatment as this young person.

Having had a good 20 years nursing experience and having now looked after 2 children with ME I have found a number of ways of helping people with this condition and as a result have prepared a proposal for extending the school and for eventually it to include a boarding/day school.

A number of people have shown interest in the proposals and include such people as Lord Howe who has been very helpful and made a number of suggestions. The way forward it would seem would be to form a Board of Trustees and to become a Trust. I am therefore looking for people prepared to give up the time for this from the church, education, computer/business field and from medicine. If you are interested in becoming part of such a board or have any information that may be of assistance please email wwcis@hotmail.co.uk

Anthony began to have problems getting over viral illnesses as far back as Year 6 in primary school. At secondary school the problem became worse and finally we were contacted by the Educational Welfare Dept. Several visits brought no help only threats of fines or imprisonment for truancy and in fact on the last visit made to us, the officer looked at Anthony and said, "You don't want to get your mother into trouble do you? Don't you think she has enough to manage with?" I would just add that I am disabled myself and use a wheelchair. In other words using emotional blackmail having made it clear what the punishment, large fines followed by a prison sentence for repeat offenders, for the parents of truanters was. Finally having had to insist on a second opinion from our GP who does not seem to accept the illness at all, Anthony was referred to a family psychology team as in the GP's words, "there must be a problem at home or at school." The psychology team did accept that he really needed to be seen by a paediatrician and organised a referral. This by now had taken from October and it was not until the following February that Anthony was seen at the hospital. In the meantime I had contacted the school who failed to return any calls or answer any letters requesting his work be sent home for him to do a little at a time. He was at this stage unable to go out of the home at all and was only able to do about 5 mins work at a time. Finally I received a phone call from the Chelsea Children's Hospital School inviting him for an interview. They offered to send a taxi to bring him into school and home again one morning a week. He was by this time in Year 10. This happened on one occasion and he was then unable to get up for school again. This continued for 10 months. He had by this time officially been diagnosed as having ME. Anthony is now 17 years old, although he is still struggling to attain GCSE's and finish his secondary education however there is no funding given to help pay the cost of books, teachers or exam entry. This all has to be found by parents.

As you can see, these students have often fought and still have many battles to fight.

Any students wishing further information please email wwcis@hotmail.co.uk

Please help us to provide these students with the best teachers we can.

If you can offer teaching skills please email WWCIS@hotmail.co.uk Donations can be made via the church paypal account or moneygram. Anyone in the UK may send a cheque made payable to WWCOL Church

We now have a blog for teachers to use in conjunction with the chat room and this can be found on:

http://wwcolchurchschool.blogspot.com/