Tavistock College sixth form students to cycle the distance to John O’Groats for charity

TAVISTOCK College sixth form students are calling for community support in their bid to raise £5,000 by cycling the distance from John O'Groats to Tavistock.

The students will attempt to cycle the 1,221 kilometres on four exercise bikes in the new fitness suite on Tuesday, March 30 in aid of disaster relief charity ShelterBox.

Sixth form student Pete Robson, who is organising the event with Scott Dickson, said: “We wanted to do something people would hear about to help raise awareness for the charity and also take advantage of the new sports facilities. This was the idea that stuck out the most.

“We recently had a talk from ShelterBox in assembly. They had their big green box with an amazing amount of things for the Haiti and Chile quake survivors so we wanted to do what we could.

“We’re also hoping to buy some new chairs so future generations of sixth formers have somewhere more comfortable to go.”

The sixth formers will spend from 7am to 10pm on the bikes, split into 15 minute sessions.

ShelterBox will receive 75% of all money raised, while the remaining 25% will be put towards the refurbishment of the sixth form common room. The Parent Teacher Student Association has already raised £6,000 towards the project.

Tavistock College has an excellent relationship with ShelterBox and has raised thousands of pounds to provide aid to disaster zones.

Director of sixth form Phil Mathieson said: “We hope that students and parents in all year groups will wish to support this event, as well as members of the Tavistock community.

“ShelterBox is an extremely worthwhile organisation and the college is proud of its longstanding relationship with the charity.

“Tavistock College students who stay on to sixth form – currently over 65% of Year 11s - will also benefit from the improved facilities the Year 12 and 13 students are working hard to provide.”

Dozens of sixth formers have volunteered to act as time keepers and join in with the cycling, while others are providing refreshments.

“A lot of parents are going to help out too,” added Pete. “It’s really good the amount of support we’re getting.”

Tavistock College takes seriously its responsibility to the local, national and international community. Its students and staff have raised over £65,000 for charitable causes in the last four years alone.