Staff at a Scots school are set to celebrate a Christmas to remember after scooping a £53,000 EuroMillions win.
The 15-strong syndicate from St Andrew’s R.C High School in Kirkcaldy finally struck gold on Tuesday, November 26, after playing for 15 years.
The delighted group will each walk away £3,576 richer and are already making plans for an extra special Christmas.
Maths teacher and syndicate leader Richard Miller, 57, said he had spotted an email from The National Lottery but had been too busy to check it straightaway.
He said: “We’re absolutely over the moon and still can’t believe we’ve actually won. We’ve been doing our syndicate for more than 15 years now and have won small amounts here and there.
“When I saw the email come through, I thought it was unusual as I couldn’t really remember whether that had happened with previous smaller wins – it was first thing in the morning though and I was running around getting things sorted for my first lesson of the day so didn’t really have time to check.
“It was only when I was in the staffroom at morning break time that I remembered to look again…which made it even more special as some of the syndicate members were with me when we found out.
“There were a good few minutes of us reading and re-reading what it said on the screen and then we all had to double-check with each other that we had understood it correctly. Once we knew it was confirmed, we were all in shock…but then had to crack on with teaching for the day.”
The syndicate’s winning ticket matched five main numbers 7, 11, 25, 31, 40, and the Lucky Star numbers 9 and 12. They won on an online Lucky Dip selection – scooping £53,642.
The syndicate, which includes teachers, support staff, and even former colleagues, now plan to spend their winnings on special treats from dream holidays to home renovations.
Richard added: “I’m in the process of moving house so this extra money will be a huge help towards that and takes some of the pressure off, so it really is perfect timing.
“You never really think something like this will happen to you, but we’re just a group of people who work together and decided to get involved in a syndicate for a bit of fun every week…and we’re so glad we did just that.”
Fellow syndicate member Siobhan Docherty said: “This has made a huge difference to my Christmas – it’s meant I’ve been able to make this year extra special and allowed me to spoil my children which feels amazing.”
Other members of the winning group include Grant McAllister, John Lyden, Michelle Laing, Angela Gourlay, Lilian Corbett, and Leonard Rhone.
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