London landmarks sprung in a park yesterday as a school took part in a mini-marathon yesterday to support one parent’s attempt on the full distance tomorrow.
Pupils from St Andrew’s in Inverurie all entered the sponsored walk in Kellands Park.
They followed a one-mile route, ticking off famous sights such as Buckingham Palace, the Cutty Sark, the Houses of Parliament and St Paul’s Cathedral.
The course was decked out in red, white and blue to honour the Queen’s birthday.
Primary children walked one mile and the senior school completed two circuits.
One of the parents, Bryan Mills is in the UK capital tomorrow for what will be his first ever marathon.
“I applied on a whim. My son James is at the school, so I thought it would be a good way to try and raise funds for the school to spend on new playground equipment,” he said.
Mr Mills is hoping to complete the 26.2-mile course in around four and a half hours and has already raised most of his £1,000 target. Encouraging the pupils yesterday from the finish line, Mr Mills handed out medals to all those taking part, adding: “It’s great to see them all getting out and about – I bet they all sleep well tonight.”
Melanie Davidson, chair of the friends of St Andrew’s School, applauded all the pupils’ efforts and wished Mr Mills good luck, commenting: “We wanted to support Bryan in some way and to try and boost his fundraising – so we thought our own sponsored walk was a good idea. The pupils planned the route themselves and some of them helped put out the landmarks – we have the Queen, as it is her birthday, Buckingham Palace, the Cutty Sark, the Houses of Parliament and St Paul’s Cathedral all on there. It has been a great thing that everyone has got involved with.”
