Friends and family rally round to support the Brain Tumour Charity in memory of Grantham student Ollie Scott

Family and friends of a teenager who died of a brain tumour are getting behind a charity which funds research into the illness.

Ollie Scott died just six weeks before his 20th birthday in August this year.

His mum Caroline Scott, of Barkston, has set up a fund-raiser in his memory, the Ollie Scott Fund, which has so far raised more than £4,800 for The Brain Tumour Charity.

Ollie had just finished his A-levels at King’s School in Grantham last year when he started to suffer with extremely painful headaches. He was diagnosed with an aggressive type of brain tumour, which was followed by brain surgery and a year of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Caroline said: “This came out of the blue for all of us, especially Ollie. It proves that it can happen to any of us, at any time of our lives. Ollie’s oncologist told us it is pure bad luck, bad biology.

“Ollie was so brave and kept positive for us.

“Missing Ollie seems to get bigger and bigger. The loss of Ollie in our lives will be with us always, but we will learn to live with it. That’s what you have to do when you lose such love in your life.”

Ollie was very active, enjoying sport. He played rugby for Sleaford and Grantham and for King’s School. He also enjoyed snowboarding and was a good musician, achieving top grades in guitar and saxophone.

He loved Christmas and the family has made a Father Christmas memorial to him on the village green to raise awareness of The Brain Tumour Charity.

Ollie’s sister Robyn, 21, said: “My brother was and still is my best friend. He showed and gave me enough love in 19 years to stay with me for a lifetime. Even though Ollie is no longer here, I will never be without him.”

Ollie’s family has been supported by friends and businesses who have donated money and helped raised awareness. Syston Park farm shop donated all the profits from the sales of Christmas wreaths and Millside Wigwams has been supportive and raised awareness of the charity at its Barkston site. AJS Fisheries, in Hungerton, is planning a fishing match in Ollie’s memory to raise funds and the BP fuel station in Barkston has a collection pot on the counter, as has the farm park.

King’s School is also raising money by donating part of the proceeds from the sale of face masks with the King’s logo on them.

Caroline said: “Many people have been so kind within our local community and beyond, offering support and many donations have been made.”

The Ollie Scott Fund was set up to raise funds for The Brain Tumour Charity and increase awareness of the disease. Half of all men and women in the country will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.

The Brain Tumour Charity relies fully on voluntary donations to fund its world-class research into a cure for brain tumours,

which are the biggest killer of people under the age of 40. More than 5,000 people lose their lives to these tumours every year.

More than £5 million is spent on cancer research every year, but only three per cent of that is spent on brain tumour research.

To find out more about Ollie’s story and to make a donation go to www.thebraintumourcharity.org