This weekend would have seen the running of the 40th London Marathon. Having completed this
myself twice, I know first hand what an incredible event this is. One of the key features, aside from the physical challenge, is the extraordinary amount of money that is raised for many charities through the fundraising of the many thousands of participants. This year, due to the cancellation of the event, those charities will not be benefiting in the way that they normally would and may therefore be unable to provide the support they normally do.

Virgin London Marathon have launched the #twopointsixchallenge (based on the marathon distance being 26.2 miles) as a means by which to get people across the country involved in some physical activity and also to raise money for charity where possible. We would like as many of our students and families to get involved as
possible, creating your own #twopointsixchallenge, passing that challenge on to others and where possible,
making a manageable donation to charity. As a school, we would like to support two particular charities.

The first is the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. We have chosen this in honour of a former Warblington student, Sam Roonan, who sadly died earlier this month, aged just 21. Despite his illness, Sam was an inspiring sportsman who represented Great Britain in several Transplant Games, achieving multiple medals, including several Gold for skiing! Sam thoroughly enjoyed skiing and after receiving his lung transplant was able to compete at a much higher level. He was a passionate young man and ever so grateful for the opportunities he had in life and always gave back to the charities that had helped him through some difficult times.

His funeral took place just last week and whilst not being allowed to attend, many staff and former students came to the school to clap his funeral cortege as it went past, Sam travelled in style, in a VW campervan.

The second charity that we would like to support is Young Minds. They are a mental health charity who provide resources, advice and support for young people, something that we all feel is at the forefront of our minds right now.

To make a donation once you have completed your challenge, head to www.twopointsixchallenge.co.uk Once in the ‘make a donation’ process, you will be able to select your chosen charity.

Even if you are unable to make a charity donation at this time, we are still keen for as many of our families to take part in the physical challenge as possible and would love for you to share your photos/videos/stories of what you have challenged yourselves with. You can do this by emailing in to the different year group email addresses or by sharing on our social media pages. The challenge runs for the next two weeks – so get moving (in line with COVID-19 guidelines)!

Click here to for the 2.6 Challenge fact sheet to help you get started.

Dr Lansley, Assistant Headteacher