David Ruffley will visit Riverwalk School in South Close, Bury St Edmunds on Friday, 10 June to support the 'Send my Friend to School' Global Campaign for Education and to help the children work on their 'buddies' for submission to the forthcoming G8 meeting. Riverwalk School is a special school catering for children with severe disabilities.

The Global Campaign for Education is a coalition of international development charities and teachers' unions and brings together young people, teachers and politicians in over 100 countries to highlight the need for education for all. This year children are making a million cut-out figures- 'buddies'- and sending them to political leaders asking them to 'send my friend to school'. UK schools will be sending their 'buddies' to the G8 leaders when they meet in Scotland in July.

David said:

'Education is something we take for granted in the UK but throughout the world there are more than one hundred million children who receive no education at all, 60% of whom are girls. Education is one of the most effective routes out of poverty. The target set by the UN Millennium Development Goals is for all children to have an education by 2015. Urgent action is needed if there is to be any realistic chance of meeting this target. This year the UK Government holds the Presidency of the G8 and the EU and I call on the Government to take advantage of this opportunity to take the lead in making sure that funding is available to made education free and available to all. I am only too pleased to support the children of Riverwalk School in their participation in this excellent initiative.'