Hill climbers!

CHARITY boost . . . presenting £10,000 are St Joseph’s Steve Hill (middle row, left), and his Year 6 class, Kate Puc of Francis House (middle) and Shane Keating with teaching assistant Carole Morrison (middle, right)

Adventurous teacher’s praise for school as fund-raising hits £10,000

THE adventurous exploits of Shaw schoolteacher Steve Hill have helped his Year Six class raise an incredible £10,000 for good causes.

The youngsters and their tutor gathered this week to hand over the proceeds to Francis House Children’s Hospice and pupil Shane Keating, suffers from the degenerative condition, Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Fund-raising by Mr Hill’s class at St Joseph’s Primary School began four years ago, when the youngsters raised £5,000.

“We thought that was amazing and we would never beat it, but each year’s class has raised even more, and this year’s £10,000 is just phenomenal,” he said.

The cash raised by the youngsters with many fund-raising events is boosted each year by Mr Hill undertaking testing expeditions.

This school year he managed two challenges — topping the 18,510ft summit of Russia’s Mount Elbrus; then braved sub-zero temperatures driving a team of huskies on a 300-mile Arctic expedition.

In four years of fund-raising, Mr Hill has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Mont Blanc, and trekked across the Sahara Desert.

Successive classes have raised more than £30,000 since 2009, split between charities including the Christie Hospital, Dr Kershaw’s hospice, Help for Heroes and the BIRD charity which supports people with brain injuries.