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19 March 2018
Pupils and staff at King Edward VI High School for Girls, Edgbaston will cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats – figuratively speaking – as part of a packed week of fund-raising for Sport Relief. With a bank of exercise bikes set up in the entrance hall, everyone will have the chance to pedal for as short or as long a distance as they can manage, paying a small fee for the privilege. The aim is for the cyclists to cover a cumulative total of at least 874 Miles, the length of the road route between the most northerly and southerly points of the British mainland – and boost their fitness in the process.
The first event of the week will be the popular Boys v Girls Netball match, featuring several of the basketball stars from KES whose extra height and raw power could be undermined by their unfamiliarity with the stepping rule. Another highlight will be the Staff versus Girls Rounders fixture, where insiders believe England hockey star Miss Blanks, netball international Miss Masterson and Outward Bound specialist Mr Jarvis could prove to be the teachers’ secret weapons.
KEHS’s Sport Relief Week is organised by the sixth-formers of the Sports Committee, among them West Midlands netballer Paras Rati, 18, who has represented the Wasps Junior Superleague side.
“We’re all really involved in sport and we know first-hand how vital it is for your physical and mental well-being,” she said, “particularly in a school with a high academic focus like ours. Even though it’s A Level year for most of the committee, it’s been a great release for us, organising this whole week, sharing our love of sport with the rest of the school and raising funds for a great cause.”
Proceeds from the week will go to the national Sport Relief Appeal which raises funds for a range of good causes helping vulnerable people in Britain and abroad. These include projects supporting people suffering from mental illness, drug addiction or domestic violence and those at risk of people-trafficking. One overseas initiative is to try to eradicate malaria. “We’re praying for good weather as the netball and rounders matches are both outdoors,” added her fellow-organiser Issy Russell, 18, “but luckily the entrance fee for spectators includes home-baked cake, which always packs them in! We’re hoping that as many girls and staff as possible will come along and have a go on the exercise bikes too – and help us make it as far as John O’Groats and beyond.”
