Six members of staff from Gorse Hill Primary School have completed the Swindon Half Marathon, raising more than £1,000 for local domestic abuse charity Society Without Abuse (SWA).
Louise Evans, Millie Hutchinson, Brandon Ricketts, Teri Pettett and Andy Williams, together with Principal Candida Hutchinson, took on the 13.1-mile challenge after months of training.
Three of the team had never run before, while two others had never tackled the half-marathon distance. They finished in times ranging from two to three hours and were cheered on by colleagues and pupils along the route.
Louise said, “As a team, we’re so proud of what we’ve achieved together. Three of us had never run before and the other two had never run this far, so training together and then completing the Swindon Half has been a real achievement.
“It has also been an opportunity for us to show our support for SWA, a vital local charity, to continue conversations around healthy relationships and be role models for our pupils. We wanted to show them that they can achieve whatever they put their minds to, while helping them develop into compassionate and responsible people.
“We also thought it was a great way to demonstrate our school values of courage, appreciation, respect and excellence, while showing the importance of being part of our local community and helping others, particularly a charity like SWA, which does so much to support our community.”
Gorse Hill Primary School is an SWA HOPE School, having completed the charity’s HOPE Award. The scheme equips teachers and school staff with the knowledge they need to identify and support children who may be at risk of domestic abuse.
It also provides pupils with lessons about healthy relationships and helps create a point of support for those who may be experiencing domestic abuse within the school community.
Emma Maclennan, Children and Families Manager for SWA, said, “We are so proud of Gorse Hill Primary School for taking on such a massive challenge and their efforts will make an amazing difference in helping us continue our work supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse.”
To find out more about Society Without Abuse and the HOPE Award, visit societywithoutabuse.org.uk.
