Pupils show moves to thank the NHS
£750 raised by seven-hour Speenhamland danceathon
A GROUP of energetic Speenhamland School pupils have raised more than £750 for the NHS after dancing for seven hours straight.
Sports coordinator Adam Page and his bubble of 12 key worker and vulnerable children decided to show some moves after hearing about someone who was raising money for charity by dancing for three hours.
Inspired and determined to go one better, Mr Page and the pupils spent the entire school day on Wednesday, June 24, completing a danceathon to raise money for NHS Charities Together.
The class put together a Spotify playlist, with the teachers including dance-centred songs like The Macarena and Cha Cha Slide, while the children made sure artists like Macklemore and Ed Sheeran featured heavily.
Mr Page, who has been at the school for four years, said: “It was a really good challenge and had a really good positive atmosphere.
“It was incredibly challenging – I don’t think any of us anticipated quite how challenging it was going to be, particularly the children.
“The students pushed each other on – if someone was starting to flag a little bit then they’d say, ‘come on, come on, you can do it’.
“The other bubbles from the school kept their distance, but danced alongside us to support us and encourage us, which was nice.”
The challenge was set after the pupils, who are aged nine to 11, decided they wanted to give something back to the NHS.
Mr Page said: “We’re a key worker bubble, so the parents have been out working throughout the entirety of the pandemic and lockdown.
“The children have been in school pretty much the whole way through, even during their half-term and Easter holidays, so they’ve seen the effects of it more than perhaps if your parents were furloughed and you were at home.
“Because of that, they knew the NHS had worked really hard and lots of people had been affected, and they just wanted to do something to give back.
“It was all their idea.” To donate to the cause, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/speenhamlandschooldance