Children from Swanage Primary School in Mount Scar were at last able to complete their Race for Life fundraiser after it was delayed due to coronavirus last summer term – raising a substantial amount of cash for Cancer Research UK in the process.
Not to be deterred by the setback caused by lockdown, the school decided to push ahead with the sponsored running event, once all the pupils had returned to school for the autumn term in September 2020.
Due to the current Covid restrictions, it wasn’t possible to invite families to join in or even to run the event as a whole school, as was initially intended.
Instead, each group of children in a ‘bubble’ had a set time to run their own Race for Life, and families were invited to participate from home.
Dedicate their run to someone special
Each class was set its own challenge by their teacher, according to their age and every child was provided with a back sign so they could dedicate their run to someone special if they wanted to. At the end they all received a medal for completing the challenge.
The small, one form entry primary school had only intended to aim to raise £500 but its online fundraising page has now raised an impressive £1,790.
The pupils were enthusiastic about raising money for a good cause.
Milly, aged 5 said:
“I like running, so I ran for my Great Grandma.”
Freya, aged 11 added:
“My class and I ran to support Race for Life to help raise money for cancer research.“
While Rory, aged 10 explained:
“I ran for my uncle who has just died of cancer because I know it’s really upsetting having someone die. They shouldn’t have to die.”
“Blown away by the generous donations”
The amazing effort that went into the Race for Life was applauded by the school’s headteacher, Martin Godfrey. He said:
“It was a great event. A huge well done to all the children and staff for taking part. We have been blown away by the generous donations from the children’s families.”
Spokesperson for Cancer Research UK in the south west, Jenny Makin responded to the news. She said:
“We’re absolutely delighted and can’t thank them enough, especially at this tough time for charities. We’re really impressed and enormously grateful to all the children, staff and parents at Swanage Primary School.”
