A team of Sixth Form students ran with their head of Sixth Form in the Great North Run.

Sixth Form students from The Royal Masonic School (RMS) for Girls, Rickmansworth, ran 13.1 miles and raised £7,000 when they competed in the Great North Run on September 8.

The Great North Run is an annual marathon event between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields, the largest half marathon in the world. Over 57,000 participants joined the run, with twelve students, five members of staff and one parent being from RMS for Girls.

Head of Sixth Form, Clare Freeman, decided to encourage students and staff to practice running and build up their fitness, to aim for the team to take part in the Great North Run.

One of the students who competed in the run said: “There was an incredible atmosphere, being surrounded by 50,000 other runners, and watching Mo Farah on the big screens as we lined up to start made it even more exciting!

“As we ran there was music playing on every corner, with people handing out sweets and lollies, and so many runners raising money for such a wide variety of charities.

“It was great to train and run with our friends, as well as teachers and a parent, and even our Head of Sixth Form and Headmaster!’

The money raised at the event went towards the chosen school charity for the year, the Rainbow Trust, a charity which aids children with life-threatening or terminal illnesses.

After the race, one student, Ibby, said that she was “retiring from running.” Other students have mentioned they are so enlightened by the run they are searching for their next event.

Mrs Freeman said: “The run gave us a challenge in our first year of having PE as an integral part of the Sixth Form curriculum. Training and completing the run as a team – eleven students, five staff members and one parent – helped us develop great community spirit, demonstrating all the school values and gaining a huge sense of achievement."