Riverbank Primary School pupils in Aberdeen have raised £2,000 for cancer charity Clan by running and walking a marathon.
Pupils in Primary 4 – now in Primary 5 – were sponsored to individually walk or run the equivalent distance of a marathon over a month earlier this year.
The pupils collectively managed to raise £2,000 through family and friends donations.
The funds raised from the challenge will help Clan who provide emotional and practical support to people in the north-east whose lives have been affected by cancer.
Aberdeen City Council’s education operational committee convener, M. Taqueer Malik, said: “This was a fantastic effort by our young children and for such a worthy cause.
“The whole city can be proud of what was truly a marathon fundraising effort.”
The teaching staff were on hand to lend support and encouragement to the pupils as they completed the challenge. The pupils also gained valuable knowledge during it.
Kai said: “Running the marathon was really fun and we learned about kilometres and measuring distance.”
Riverbank pupils are ‘inspiration’ for others
Leo said: “I really loved doing the marathon and I never thought about giving up.”
Jessica added: “We finished our marathon in Seaton Park, created our own medals and got a purple clan bracelet as a finishing prize – I felt tired and proud finishing the marathon.”
Inspiration for the Clan marathon challenge came when the Riverside pupils took part in the charity’s Little Lights project.
The task was to build a model lighthouse that would be proudly displayed in the Aberdeen Art Gallery.
The Riverbank pupils chose ‘A Day at the Aberdeen Beach’ as their theme which has become synonymous as a location to escape to during lockdown.
Fiona Fernie, Clan’s head of income generation and business development, said: “What an inspiration the children, families and teaching staff at Riverbank Primary are.
“Not only have they engaged with the Little Lights project and collectively created a beautiful sculpture thanks to the kind support of Subsea7, but they have also gone on to embrace their own fundraising challenge which incorporated exercise, family, and the outdoors.
“The Riverbank pupils should be very proud of not just their participation but also the fantastic amount they have raised for Clan which will help to support even more people affected by cancer.”