A COVENTRY primary school is gearing up for an epic cycle challenge as part of a citywide campaign to raise £250,000 to fund Plas Y Moch.
The ambitious eight month project has seen teachers and year six pupils at Finham Primary School in Green Lane work closely with Leamington bike trader John Atkins Cycles to design, restore and construct a bike.
With parts individually sourced from all over the world, the bike is now set to take to the road with teachers as part of a bid to fundraise the sustainability of Plas Dol Y Moc – an outdoor adventure centre based in Wales used by the city’s school.
This Sunday (June 5), headteacher Richard Machin and teachers will be taking it in turns to cycle as far as possible from Finham Primary over 24 hours in an attempt to cover 5,777 miles – the distance from Coventry to Rio.
Children will also do their bit to cover the distance over a week from Monday (June 6) by taking part in a sponsored walk around Draycote Water and walking to and from school each day.
Richard said: “Dol Y Moch has been used by Coventry schools for 50 years and has given generations of children lasting memories.
“In order for children to continue experiencing outdoor adventure the centre needs to be supported, so the school is eager to do whatever they can to fundraise.
“The Finham bike is the result of eight months of children’s hard work designing and restoring to make sure it is best equipped to help teachers cover as many miles as possible – now it’s up to us to make sure we cover the distance and don’t disappoint.
“Pupils will also get involved by hedging bets to predict how many miles the team manage to cover – with the child who guesses the closest to the result winning the bike.”
Route to Rio is a fundraising project which combines the 50th Anniversary of Plas Dol Y Moch with the Olympic Games in Rio 2016.
It is organised by Coventry Sports Foundation and invites the city’s schoolchildren to take part in a host of outdoor sports to fundraise for the running costs of the residential outdoor centre.
Wendy Jackson, community development manager at the Foundation, said: “It is fantastic to see Finham Primary lead the way in fundraising for Dol Y Moch.
“Cycling, walking or running up to 5,777 miles is by no means a small feat and it’s great that pupils and teachers are so enthusiastic about taking part.”
