On Monday 15 September, over 400 pupils and staff from
Shiplake College embarked upon a monumental 20 mile challenge to raise money
for five worthy causes. The bi-annual charity event brings the entire College community together and provides a real sense of achievement at the finish line.
The event was originally titled a ‘charity walk’, which is
an impressive challenge in its own right given the distance involved. For many,
the journey took over 6 hours to complete. Remarkably, some decided to make
things even more difficult for themselves, by rowing, canoeing or even running
the entire route.
Setting off from Moulsford Prep School in groups from 9.30am,
the masses headed past Goring and down to Whitchurch-on-Thames. After a brief
delay negotiating with construction workers repairing the Whitchurch toll
bridge, the leaders headed on towards Purley.
The route continued to follow the River Thames down to
Caversham Bride, where one of several snack stops was stationed. This provided
fuel and motivation to keep plodding along to Sonning, where runners and
walkers crossed the bridge and entered the final stretch home to Shiplake. With
the advantage of not having to follow paths, rowers were able to cut a few
corners but still travelled an awful long way along the river.
All those who completed the challenge deserve great credit;
they certainly earned the sponsorship which they have been collecting over
recent weeks. All those travelling on foot completed over three quarters of a
marathon, which is undoubtedly a significant achievement. Oliver Riley was
first back to the College in a time of 2 hours 45 minutes and rewarded with a
huge chocolate bar courtesy of Mr Settle. Special mentions should also go to
Tom Nike (Year 9) and Jack Underwood (Year 8) who both ran the entire way,
finishing 5th and 11th respectively. The first 10 finishers are listed below:
- Ollie Riley (Year 12)
- Marcus Colao (Year 11)
- Tom Banks
(Year 13)
- Jack Leigh (Year 11)
- Tom Nike (Year 9)
- Jack Willis (Year 12)
- Jonathan Walter (Year 12)
- Matt Brown (Year 12)
- Freddie Brady (Year 12)
- Conor
Crowe (Year 11)
We were delighted to see so many taking part
enthusiastically in the walk. All money raised will be split between five
superb charities; Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance, Sue Ryder, Children
on the Edge, Gap Africa and the Chiltern Centre.
We are delighted to see that over £2,000 raised has been
donated online so far via our VirginMoneyGivingPage. Housemasters are also
collecting money and politely request that all sponsorship forms and money is
sent in by the end of next week.
More photographs from the Charity Walk and other events can
be viewed in our media gallery. This can be accessed from any page by clicking on the camera icon in the bottom left corner of the
screen.