Taking inspiration from one of their most famous past pupils, students at a Shropshire school are attempting to virtually circumnavigate the world in, not 80 days, but 40.
And they are doing it all for charity.
To keep the 800 students at Shrewsbury School active during lockdown, philosophy teacher Giles Bell challenged them to run, walk or cycle 50km over 40 days and raise £50 each.
Collectively they hope to raise £40,000 which will be split between local and national charities – including us.
Famous
Giles said: “One of our past pupils was Michael Palin who is famous for his TV show Around the World in 80 Days. So, we have taken inspiration from him and asked each student to take part in our very own round the world challenge.
“Each house had to choose a charity to support and Porthill House chose Severn Hospice.
Links
“Andy Barnard, who is housemaster of Porthill has experienced the care that Severn Hospice provide first-hand as have some of our students and as a school, we have strong links with the charity.
“A few years ago, we visited the hospice as volunteers and worked in the garden and we have also talked about the work of Severn Hospice in our lessons when we have been teaching the students about palliative care.
“The boys in Porthill House knew that they wanted to support a local charity and Severn Hospice was the first choice.”
Fun
Jess Druce, our area fundraiser said: “What a fun challenge. It is a really creative way of raising money for us and we are so grateful to the students and the staff. Thank you so much.
“The support Shrewsbury School has shown us over the years has been great and we are proud we have been able to be there for the families of staff and pupils when they needed us most.
“Our finances have been hit very hard by the COVID-19 pandemic but the way the local community has rallied around has been very humbling – it is because of their support that we can continue to care for thousands of people living with incurable illness in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales.”
