A group of students in China made sure their seriously ill classmate was part of one final school memory, walking more than two kilometres to hospital so they could take their graduation photo alongside him.

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More than 50 students from a graduating junior secondary school class at Yilong Middle School, in Sichuan province, made the journey with their teachers on May 17, per South China Morning Post.

Waiting for them at Yilong People’s Hospital was their 15-year-old classmate, Ren Junjie.

Ren had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma the previous year, forcing him to leave school while undergoing treatment for the cancer.

He had travelled to another city in search of better treatment before recently being transferred back to a hospital closer to home.

With the senior secondary school entrance examinations just a month away, the students were approaching what many consider a hugely important moment in their education.

But when their teacher suggested taking a graduation photograph with Ren, his father said every one of his classmates came.

Several students entered Ren’s hospital ward and helped him put on his school uniform before wheeling his bed outside onto the hospital grounds.

There, surrounded by his classmates and teachers, Ren was included in a picture that would prove to be far more than an ordinary graduation photograph.

The students also brought letters containing messages of support, along with gifts for their classmate.

Among them was a basketball signed by the group, with Ren’s name also written on it.

“I wish you could get well and come back to us soon,” one student wrote.

Another message read: “I admire your courage to battle the illness. Get well soon and play computer games with us.”

A member of Ren’s family later shared pictures of the emotional gathering and the gifts on social media, thanking his classmates and teachers for their support while wishing the students success in their upcoming exams.

Tragically, the graduation photo became Ren’s final group picture.

His family announced that he died at 4am the following morning, just one month before what would have been his 16th birthday.

The news devastated those who knew him, with one parent revealing that their child had called them crying after learning of Ren’s death.

His story has since reached millions of people online, with more than eight million observers watching and responding to the touching gesture.

Ren’s father said the family were grateful to the school for helping fulfil his son’s dream and leaving them with a precious memory.

The moment also prompted emotional responses online.

“In the last group photo in his life, surrounding him were the best classmates and teachers in the world,” one person wrote.

Another commented: “He went to heaven the next day after the group photo. Maybe he had been holding on for this precious moment.”

For another observer, the students had experienced something far beyond their usual education.

“The students in his class had the best lesson that they could never learn from a textbook,” they wrote.

Another added: “In his next life, he will be a healthy and happy child.”

Featured image credit: Timothy Huliselan / Pexels