Schoolchildren complete virtual fundraising run to Paris

A village school has raised nearly £800 running from Curridge to Paris.

Pupils laced up their trainers and pushed themselves to run 340 miles – the distance from Curridge to the heart of Paris – by completing 0.5k laps of the school’s cross-country route.

They ended up running a further 60 miles by their final day on Monday (May 19), and so far have raised £795 to buy new curriculum resources.

From Curridge, the route took them through Reading, London, Dover, across the Channel to Calais, and finally to Paris.

Each of the school’s four classes ran weekly to reach a new checkpoint on the virtual journey, Year 6 teacher and fundraiser organiser Eleanor Richardson explained.

Miss Richardson added: “We’ve seen incredible determination from every child. They’ve run in sunshine and rain, on happy days and tough days.

“It’s been as much about building resilience and supporting mental wellbeing as it has been about physical fitness.

“We have also had staff spending their evenings running together to match children’s mileage and show their support too.

“I am so proud of each and every child for their efforts and we thank everyone who has donated so far for the generosity.”

Visit https://gofund.me/958d11d4 to support the school’s online fundraiser.