LETTER: School walks for Kenya education

The 11-mile route took the students around the West Sussex countryside and was made possible through the provision of free rail transport provided by Southern Railway.

The students started the walk at The Weald before departing to Pulborough via a number of trains and then walked back to school in the gruelling summer heat.

The event was in aid of Classrooms for Kenya, a charity set up by students and staff of The Weald School in 2006.

Over the last seven years the school has raised in the region of £200,000 through this charity and have used this money to pay for the construction of 50 new classrooms in western Kenya.

Once again, our students have answered the call to support education in Kenya by completing this walk in fairly difficult temperatures.

We’re proud of the efforts our students and staff have made over the years to support this cause.

The event was supported by a number of organisations based in and around West Sussex.

As well as Southern Railway providing free rail transport, the event was also supported by Sussex Police, Chichester University and Edgar’s Cool Water, who generously provided a number of water coolers and free water to provide the students with refreshment during the event.

Southern’s CSR and Partnership Manager, Andy Harrowell, said: “It’s a fantastic achievement by the children and they should be congratulated for their hard work, as well as the excellent behaviour they demonstrated at our stations. We’re really pleased to have been able to support the movement of so many children on the day.”

In July this year a team of year 12 students and staff are visiting western Kenya to help build a further six classrooms.

These new buildings will be financed through the funds raised from the sponsored walk and this will be the fifth time students from The Weald have visited the area.

WILL RICHARDS

Weald School teacher and trustee of Classrooms for Kenya, Weald School, Station Road, Billingshurst