London to Paris cycle challenge raises £8,000 for charity
A team of cyclists raised nearly £8,000 for a charity’s ‘life-changing’ project, after successfully completing a multi-day ride from London to Paris.
Fundraising
Aycliffe pupils reach new heights as they achieve fundraising target
Teenagers from a North East specialist school rose to the challenge when they took on a sponsored ‘superhero walk’ to reach the summit of Roseberry Topping.
Pupils and staff from class 6 at Aycliffe School, run by the North East Autism Society (NEAS), hit their fundraising target of £500 after climbing to the top of the regional landmark wearing iconic costumes from films and comics.
Judith Gibbons, class 6’s teacher at Aycliffe School, said: “We find as a class walking is good for our general wellbeing, fitness, and mental health. That lead to the idea that we’ll walk up Roseberry Topping, and we felt that if we were walking up Roseberry Topping, we should do it to raise money.”
The 15 to 16-year-old pupils aimed to raise money for new free-time equipment for the classroom, which the class could use between lessons to relax, socialise, and build friendships over common interests.
Hot weather on the day of the walk added to the challenge of summiting the 1,049ft hill, and while some pupils ‘scampered up it in no time’, others, including some members of staff, found the route tougher.
“It was potentially more challenging than some people anticipated,” said Judith, adding that the class’ teamwork shined through on the day.
"Everyone rallied around and made sure everyone got to the top."
Judith added: “Overall it went to plan and went really well.”
Now that the class has reached its fundraising goal, the class has discussed and identified what equipment the money will be spent on, as well as how it will be used and how to keep it safe for future use.
Judith said:
"The pupils are really proud. They feel like they’ve worked hard for it and it’s their equipment, so they’re very invested in plans for looking after it."
As well as taking on the sponsored climb, class 6 also promoted the event themselves as part of a project with NEAS’ marketing team.
Pupils learned more about design, branding, and creating a poster to advertise the walk, which they put up around Newton Aycliffe and the school itself.
“They learned you have to keep pushing things, it’s hard work to keep people’s attention,” Judith said.
After their first fundraising success, class 6 is looking to the future for more potential challenges.
Judith added: “We’re already saying, ‘what could we do to beat this,’ so it was definitely good for confidence and self-esteem.”
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