Marathon effort helps raise cash for causes

DEPUTY head teacher Steve Hill and his Year 6 class who have raised £5,000 for charity

FIVE good causes have received a £5,000 boost from daredevil deputy head Steve Hill and his pupils.

Mr Hill completed the 130km Amazon Jungle Ultra Marathon in June while his Year 6 class at St Joseph's RC Primary School in Shaw held a range of fundraising events throughout the year.

And the money takes the total amount that Mr Hill and his classes have raised in the last nine years to almost £80,000.

Mr Hill completes a different annual charity challenge, ranging from the North Pole and Mount Everest marathons to climbing Mont Blanc and a 300-mile Arctic husky expedition.

As well as organising their own events, the children also choose the charities they want to support which this year were Dr Kershaw's Hospice in Royton, Ward 84 at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Parkinson's UK, Chernobyl Children's Lifeline and the school's PTA.

Mr Hill said: "This year I decided to set myself my toughest challenge yet and, as always, it really enthused the children and grabbed their imaginations. They got right behind me, were a great source of encouragement and motivation and have been fully involved in the fundraising for these very worthy causes.

"The children have held cake sales, bake offs, a coffee morning for parents and we've been Christmas carol singing around the local supermarkets. Along with this I've had some very generous support and sponsorship from our kind-hearted parents, colleagues, friends and family. The result has been a massive £5,000 raised for our charities this year.

"This incredible amount as always is down to the support and enthusiasm of my fantastic Year 6 class and the support of the whole school community ­- taking the total raised over the last few years to almost £80,000. It has been a real team effort and we'd like to thank everyone who has supported us."