‘The Cambodia Challenge’ saw the school community exceed its ambitious goal by some margin, achieving the equivalent of running the entirety of Great Britain, climbing Everest twice and clocking up enough miles in the swimming pool to cross the Channel nearly four times.
It was in support of UK-based education charity, Edukid and aimed to raise funds for a village in Cambodia to enable as many children as possible to attend school there.
Participants were encouraged to raise £20 through sponsorship pledges – the amount it takes to send a child in Cambodia to school for a month.
Whilst students in PE lessons clocked up the laps needed to swim the Channel alongside the school’s swim squad since last Monday, the main event kicked off on Friday afternoon as students, staff and parents attempted to run 874 miles around the school Astroturf, achieve 1037 upwards climbs of 6 flights of stairs and swim 1536 lengths of the pool.
Keen walkers and runners amongst the community also helped the girls reach their target to run the length of the UK. Parents and staff added the miles they covered on their usual walks and runs throughout the week to the overall total.
Deputy Head, Miss Deb Freeman said: “Everyone was really up for the challenge and it was a great afternoon. Despite the unpredictable weather, all the girls showed such tenacity and resilience with many achieving things they never would have dreamed possible.”
“We’re delighted that they have embraced the opportunity to reach their target and can all have the satisfaction of knowing what a difference each and every one of them has made to a Cambodian child’s life. Every penny raised will go to support children in the school with which we are working.”
“We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who got involved and to Sainsbury’s Truro for kindly donating cookies for all the participants.”
So far the challenge has raised nearly £2000 for Truro High’s Cambodian partner school, Brasat Primary, and sponsorship money is still coming in.
