Over £17,500 raised in Whole School Walk!

On Friday 23 September, Shiplake College swapped its home on the banks of the River Thames for the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside as over 450 pupils and staff embarked on the School's first Sponsored Walk since 2018.  

At approximately 9.00am, the coaches, carrying our Sixth Form pupils, departed Shiplake for the start of their walk at Moulsford. From then on, the rest of the College followed suit throughout the morning, with each cohort heading for different starting points along the Thames.  

Year 11, accompanied by the always stylishly dressed Mr Shaw, began their walk at Goring Bridge, while Years 9 and 10 commenced their journey from Pangbourne – 0.4 miles behind Lower School’s starting point.  

The distances on the day depended on the year group, with our Sixth Form pupils walking approximately 19.1 miles, Year 11 walking 16.4 miles, Years 9 and 10 walking 12.7 miles, and Lower School walking 12.3 miles. The route followed the River Thames from Moulsford, passing through Goring, Pangbourne, Reading and Sonning, before finishing at Shiplake via the Riverside pitches. In what many staff and pupils considered to be a cruel twist of fate, the walk concluded with a steep climb up the hill to Skipwith House from the Davies Centre – not an incline anyone would want to face after a day of walking! 

Throughout the day, spirits remained high with pupils (perhaps unsurprisingly!) becoming more and more motivated the further along the river they got, with cheers heard as the rugby posts on the Riverside pitches came into view. While some took in their surroundings, many passed the time by breaking out in song - The Proclaimers’ I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) being a frequent feature, in addition to L’Estate Sta Finendo ('The Summer Is Ending'), the latter of which many of our footballing readers are sure to be familiar with!

A special mention must go to those who ran the course in its entirety. In what was an incredible effort, Year 11's Alfie Malcolm completed the course in 2 hours 36 minutes, followed closely by Year 13's Fred Fox (2 hours 38 minutes), and Gregor Jones and Mr Mackworth-Praed (2 hours 48 minutes). Hats off also to Tom Madden, Harrison Harper, Sam Edwards and Gordon Fitzgerald who all finished soon after having run the whole way.

Well done to everyone who completed the walk. Additionally, a big thank you must go to Mr Bradley, who organised the event, and all of those who helped along the course from marshalling to catering.

At the time of writing (Monday 26 September), pupils, parents, families and friends of Shiplake College have helped to raise over £17,500 – 75% more than our initial target of £10,000! This is a substantial effort in support of our almost 30-year link with Gap Africa and our House Sponsorship of eight pupils in schools in the Kikunduku area of Kenya.  

We would like to congratulate those who took part in the walk as well as thank everyone who has donated to raise so much money. The impact that your donations will make will be substantial and if you would like to support this fantastic cause, you can still donate today!  

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