A teenager from Mansfield has raised thousands of pounds for Brain Tumour Research in memory of her stepfather, who died from the disease.

Sixth-former Scarlett Sykes marked her 18th birthday by asking for donations to the charity and continued on with the fundraising to collect £3,000.

Her stepfather, Paul Malcolm, died from an aggressive brain tumour in July 2017, just a few weeks after he was diagnosed.

Scarlett said: “Paul was a registered mental health nurse and a reservist in the British Army.

“He led a fantastically full life, even studying for a degree in fine art while juggling his career as a frontline NHS worker.

“He’d done two operational tours of Afghanistan and was extremely fit and healthy. He exercised daily and was a vegetarian. His diagnosis with a grade-three brain tumour came as a huge shock.”

As well as Scarlett, Paul left behind her older brother, Charlie, and his partner, Samantha, a fellow NHS mental health nurse.

Scarlett added: “I was only 15 at the time and couldn’t really comprehend what had happened. He’d become ill so quickly and declined rapidly.

“It took a huge toll on my mum. She and Paul were planning to get married.

“Charlie was 20 and was due to go travelling around Europe when Paul was admitted to hospital. He nearly cancelled but Paul encouraged him to still go. He was always so supportive of both of us and wanted us to thrive and take every opportunity we got.”

Scarlett was attending The Samworth Church Academy, Mansfield, at the time, but it was always her dream to attend its partner school, Gordonstoun, in Scotland. Each year one Samworth student is offered a scholarship to the prestigious independent boarding school in Scotland.

“From a young age I’d had my heart set on applying for the scholarship,” explained Scarlett.

“I thought Gordonstoun looked so cool, a bit like Hogwarts! When the opportunity came, however, we’d just lost Paul and I didn’t want to leave my mum.

“But Paul had always been 100% behind me applying and thought I’d do really well there. I put my application in and out of a year group of 300 or so students, I was selected. I felt so proud to have done it for Paul.”

In September 2019, Scarlett joined year 12 at Gordonstoun to study A-levels in English literature, history and geography. She has just completed her exams and said: “True to Paul’s predications, I’ve really thrived at school in Scotland. I became History Captain and a member of the school council.

When Scarlett turned 18 in January, she marked her big birthday by setting up a Facebook fundraiser to raise money for Brain Tumour Research in memory of her stepfather. She received donations amounting to £1,500.

“Birthdays have been hard since Paul died,” she said. “I remember feeling like I didn’t want to grow older without him being there. But when I raised all that money through my birthday fundraiser, I realised I could turn it into something positive.

“As a family we are passionate about ensuring no other family has to experience the pain we have been through.”
Scarlett’s fundraising didn’t stop at her Facebook fundraiser. A member of Hopeman House at Gordonstoun, Scarlett galvanised her schoolfriends to join her fundraising efforts and the house chose Brain Tumour Research to support for the summer term.

“I came up with the idea of a fundraising event, inspired by the famous morning runs, which were a compulsory part of the Gordonstoun curriculum until the 1990s,” she said.

“Traditionally, more than 100 students and staff, running in household groups, would undertake a daily 3.5km run from Gordonstoun House to the nearby Coastguard Watchtower, a building that replaced a wooden hut former pupil Prince Philip helped to build in 1935.

“I organised a similar, sponsored event — a very early wake-up, followed by a jaunt to the Watchtower, where we spotted dolphins and came back for breakfast.

“Eighty people took part, across all year groups, raising £1,500.”

To donate to Brain Tumour Research, visit www.braintumourresearch.org/donation/donate-now

Joe Woollcott, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We were so very sorry to learn about the tragic loss of Scarlett’s stepfather, Paul. His story reminds us that brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any time. Our condolences extend to Scarlett’s mum and brother and all those who knew and loved Paul.

“What Scarlett has done in memory of her stepdad is truly inspiring. She has turned a terrible situation into something really positive and has raised the equivalent amount to fund a day’s research at one of our Centres of Excellence, which is phenomenal. We thank her sincerely and wish her the best of luck for her A-level results and beyond.”