Pupils and staff at a primary school in Abbots Langley are raising vital funds for charity by running the distance between London and the North Pole.
All 440 kids at Tanners Wood Junior Mixed & Infant School, from Nursery to Year 6, are running 2,560 miles in total between December 1 and December 16 to raise money for YoungMinds, a charity which helps young people manage their mental health.
The school has so far raised around £1,000, with 75 per cent of the total funds going to the charity and the rest being used for school funding.
Shejal Radia, who has taught at Tanners Wood for 10 years, said: “We’ve done plenty of charity fundraisers before, but none quite like this. We had to cancel Year 2’s Carnival Float, the Christmas carol singing, the school fair and the nativity play.
“The Christmas period has also brought so much uncertainty for the kids and the teachers about whether we’ll all be isolating and whether we’d be able to see our families properly, so we all desperately needed cheering up and something to get excited about.
“We decided to put our daily mile running track to good use by getting each and every pupil to go out daily, at different times, and run as much as they could to contribute to our virtual journey to the North Pole.
“A few of the teachers have been running laps with the kids as well, with the aim of seeing who could run/walk the length of a marathon before the virtual trip is over.”
When we spoke to Shejal, the school were only halfway through the challenge, but the impact it had had on the children was clear to see.
“The smiles on their faces while they’re running around at the moment is so nice to see,” Shejal said.
“There’s so many benefits to the challenge. The kids are restricted in terms of movement in class due to COVID rules, so getting this exercise in is a massive boost.
“On top of that, we’re raising funds for a charity that’s had a huge impact on kids’ health mental during the pandemic.”
To donate, go to gofundme.com/f/Tanners-northpole-challenge
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