Local school’s 24 hour walking challenge clocks up 2.6 million steps!

Having been Around the World with us before, Hightown Junior, Infant and Nursery School in Liversedge wanted to do something even more amazing this year. Something that would involve the whole community and raise even more money.

Scot Minto, pastoral manager at Hightown said: “We’re a community school, one that likes to do things differently. So we decided to organise a 24 hour walk that all our children, their families and the community could join in with. But we had no idea how successful it would be!”

The walk started at 9am on Tuesday 21st May at the school. Doing laps around Liversedge and beyond, the group would return to the school every hour to pick up new walkers and drop off those who wanted to stop. Scot took on the extreme challenge of walking for the whole 24 hours.

“We needed someone to keep it going,” he said. “Plus I’m quite a competitive person – once I’d set myself the challenge, I couldn’t give up, even at 2am, with the blisters kicking in!”

During the day the whole school took part with Years 1-6 doing between 1 and 3 miles each. Reception classes walked to the local park, while children in the nursery did half a mile at the school. But Scot was concerned that there’d be no one on the walk once it got dark.

“As we walked back to the school at 9pm I was worried there’d be no one there to join us. But there were loads of people waiting to get started. Parents, staff, friends and governors walked with us throughout the night, even at 2, 3, 4am! That was the real highlight for me.”

In all, 240 children, 25 staff and an estimated 150 families and friends took part in the walk over the 24 hours, clocking up an incredible 2.6 million steps – around 1000 miles. 

And Scot believes the effort (and the pain of those blisters!) has been well worth it. “The greater the challenge, the more you raise,” he said. While not every penny has yet been counted, he thinks the event will have raised over £1000.

And why support Forget Me Not? Headteacher, Russell Ingleby, who also took part, said: “Why wouldn’t you? It’s a local children’s charity. You know exactly where your money’s going – to help local children.”

Here, here! And well done to all the children and staff at Hightown Junior, Infants and Nursery School and everyone who walked with them or supported them!