Britain’s Loneliest Schoolboy Gets Early Christmas Cheer

10-year-old Aron Anderson lives on the remote Scottish Island of Out Skerries, said to have a total population of 70. He is the sole pupil at Skerries Community School and has been tagged Britain’s ‘loneliest schoolboy’.

As the only school-age child on the Island, Aron’s best friends are his dog, some ducks and flocks of sheep, Telegraph reports. There was once a thriving community on the two-mile square North Sea speck, but the closure of Out Skerries’ salmon farm and only secondary school has left Aron alone.

His older brothers, 13-year-old Ivan, 16-year-old Owen and their friends have all left for secondary school in Lerwick, a two and half hour boat journey. They only return to Out Skerries during weekends and holidays if the weather favours them seafaring.

Reading about his plight, some social media users decided to do something nice for him, to make him feel less lonely.
The campaign was started by Reddit moderator BesottedScot, and it’s been receiving a lot of attention on the United Kingdom and Scotland reddit threads. BesottedScot got wind of Aron’s story and called on fellow Redditors to send Christmas cards to the 10-year-old to help show the boy he has friends across the Internet. The moderator wrote,

“I really want him to get a big massive smile on his face. So please, write a wee message in the card to show your support too!”

The idea is already spawning praise and support and has racked up more than 800 upvotes as of Wednesday morning from kind people across the Internet who are eager to make Aron feel loved.

According to the Reddit post, BesottedScot reached out to the boy’s school, alerting them of the thoughtful plan. The moderator requested that people outside Scotland send postcards to Aron so the boy can see where his fans come from. The Redditor also asked social media users to send the cards after December 7, so the sweet messages would all arrive around the same time.

Aron’s mother Denise Anderson is unsure of how her son will deal with the isolation during the winter. She said,

“This is going to be his first winter as the only pupil so it’s hard to tell how it will be for him.”

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BesottedScot wrote,

“We have 20,000 subscribers on here and if even 1% of you send a card that’s 200 cards to a lonely boy to cheer his Christmas right up. I hope you’ll do me proud and send some nice festive cheer.”

The news has spread across the globe, with people in America sharing it on Facebook. And many Reddit users have said that they are sending over cards.

Merry Christmas Aron Anderson!