On Sunday 4th October, the Martlet girls headed to the pool to “Swim to France” in aid of Refuge. For all of the new starters in the Fourth form, Lower Fifth and Lower Sixth, this was their first house charity event and a great opportunity to bond together and create some new Martlet memories for a new school year.
Ably led by Charity Prefect Bella F. and House Captain Emily H., we started at 3pm with the slightly daunting prospect of swimming 1320 lengths to complete this cross-channel challenge! Wearing our new charity t-shirts (designed by Bella and featuring a drawing by Emily), spirits were high with lots of cheering and encouragement alongside our “Swim to France playlist” put together by Deputy House Captain Tessa S.
The girls swam in their year group bubbles and did an excellent job with each length bringing us closer to France. There was particularly strong swimming from Arabella C., Alex R. and Alexa B. in the Fourth form, Sophie M. and Sophie S. in the Lower Fifth, Phoebe F. and Georgia A. in the Upper Fifth, Boau-Lilly S. and Isobel C. in the Lower Sixth and Bella F and Melissa B in the Upper Sixth. Mrs Scott also swam the most lengths during the teachers’ swim to bring the event to a successful close just before 7pm!
We were delighted to raise a total of £3686 and to be selected as Refuge’s “Friday Fundraiser” on their Instagram page the following week. Refuge is a national charity which provides support for women and children experiencing domestic violence and our total is equivalent to one night of safe accommodation for 59 women. Thank you to all of our generous sponsors!
This event would not have been possible without the help of Julie Doubtfire who was our lifeguard at the pool throughout the afternoon and even stayed for the teachers’ swim! Thank you as well to Mr Hardy and Mr Scott who supervised and supported the girls back in house (and for overseeing the tally board to keep everyone updated!) and to Miss Greenwood, Mrs Dutton, Mrs Constable and Miss Billson for their help and enthusiasm poolside.
