Seventh annual music festival raises record funds for Morecambe and Lancaster schools

An annual music festival in aid of local schools has smashed its previous record total by raising a five-figure sum for the first time.

School Aid 2025 raised £13,000* across three days of live music in Morecambe and Lancaster venues.

This will be split equally between eight schools - West End, Morecambe Bay, Westgate, Sandylands, St Mary's, St Patrick's, Skerton St Luke's and Castle View.

The total smashed last year's record of £8040, and took the total amount raised since the festival began to £42,000.

The event has been supported by Beyond Radio every year since its inception in 2018.

Money was raised through donations, and auctions and raffles held at The Bobbin in Lancaster on Saturday, and The Exchange in Morecambe on Sunday.

School Aid 2025 began with the West End Soul Club - a night of soul, mod and ska with DJs Paul 'Soul' Johnson, Steve Jarvis and Jay Blackburn - at the Boardwalk in Morecambe on Friday.

Saturday's event at The Bobbin was hosted by Beyond Radio's Phill Hayward and SilentMark, with music from David Frederick, Keith Mitchell and Graham Mumford, Jefferson Moore, Jimmy Ward and Paul Corless, Mark Jones, David Woods and friends, The Glass Poppies, The Limes, The Call Up and Kiwi.

Sunday's event at The Exchange was hosted by Beyond Radio's Greg Lambert, with music from One Non Blonde, Terry Ross, Longshot, Lucy Blackburn, The Good Souls, Benni Beard, Stuart Michaels, Fuse, Indifferent Monkey, Shelly's Bane, Defined By, Listen Twice, and a special performance from West End Primary School.

Morecambe musician Jay Blackburn founded the annual School Aid event in 2018 with Rob Ellershaw from The Exchange after Jay watched a shocking TV news report about the poverty of children in a local primary school.

* The originally announced total was £14,000 but this has been revised due to a miscount. 

Here are photos from Sunday's event.