Staff and pupils at Archbishop Cranmer Church of England Academy, Aslockton, take on marathon challenge for wellbeing hub

A teacher and her pupils are running the equivalent three marathons to raise £20,000 as part of a bid to create a community wellbeing hub.

The school community at Archbishop Cranmer Church of England Academy, Aslockton, has been raising money for a year to take pupils’ dream of a wellbeing hub to the next level.

For the latest fundraising initiative deputy head Lauren Rogers has embarked on a nine-week challenge with her pupils.

The team is aiming to run three kilometres every day for nine weeks — which is equivalent to ten and a half laps around the school’s premises — to complete the three marathons challenge.

To promote fitness, the school usually challenges its students to complete the length of a marathon or two around the school. However, Mrs Rogers decided to go above and beyond and run three marathons before she leaves the school in July for a new post.

Supporting her has been nine-year-old pupil Daniel Short, who has been involved in all the lunch-break runs.

Daniel said: “I like to run every day because I love running and helps me keep healthy and I like raising money for our wellbeing hub.

“I think it is a great idea to use our money and spend it on things we need for the school.”

Mrs Rogers has created a GoFundMe page, which has raised £500 out of a £20,000 target.

She said: “The distance is not bad and we have to do it at lunch so that Dan’s not missing his lessons and the children, but it is the consistency of it that is the hardest part.

“It is finding the time to stop, get away and go and do it every day, we said that the children could join in and come and go and that they would still be part of the fundraising.

“Dan has been the only one who has done it consistently and I think that’s because that is the challenge, committing every single day to it is the tough part.

“His small efforts every day are making a big difference.”

The wellbeing hub project aims to create a sanctuary where children can thrive, grow and find support.

The idea behind it is to create spacious, purpose-built garden rooms where they can find solace, engage in nurturing activities and receive support through relaxation and therapy sessions.

The school's young leaders, who hold the title of ‘ministers for wellbeing’, have started a movement of compassion and care at the school.

Together with their teachers, including Ell Robinson and Lydia Miranda, pupils have raised nearly £8,000 since last year.

Much of the money that has been raised has come from the Friends of Archbishop Cranmer Church of England Academy.

Fundraising events have included raffles, a skipathon, a sleigh bell stroll, cake and themed stalls, jogs and a readathon.

“It is an on-gong thing with a lot of different ideas and the children put forward those ideas and we just make it happen,” said Mrs Robinson.

Mrs Miranda added: “Over the past few years we have seen a lot of different challenges for children and their mental health and being such a small school it is really hard to facilitate what they need.

“We have our Sunshine Room, which is fantastic but classes are getting bigger and bigger and mental health is being talked about a lot more.

“Children are becoming more aware of their own feelings, emotions and struggles and having that extra space where they can kind of almost come away from learning, a safe safe, would be fantastic.”

It is hoped that this can be a facility used by the community as well as the pupils. Parents will also be able to use the space for get-togethers and support networks.

The school community is hoping that the fundraising continues growing and that by the end of the next school year, the community hub will be not only a dream but a reality.