On a hot and sunny day Wood Green School took part in a sponsored walk to raise money for their school!
Wood Green School is a lively and encouraging environment, a key part of the school Mr David Askew, maths teacher & assistant head who has dedicated his time and effort to Wood Green for the last 28 years and is now retiring at the end of this school year. Throughout his time here he’s been involved with various school events and raised achievement in our school to have a positive impact on the next generation of young people.
There has been 5 sponsored walks since 2004, with Mr Askew being there for every single one. In 2004 David Askew, set about deciding the route the students would take. Since then every 3 years the students of Wood Green School have set out to complete the very same loop.
This years sponsored walk was our biggest yet, raising over £22,000 with key contributing forms being year 7s and 8s.
Several year 7 forms raised over £1,000 each!
One challenge of doing this sponsored walk for the school was the affect 1,000 students can have on these public spaces. Teachers had to take on the roles of event coordinators and devoted supporters in order to keep it running smoothly.
However, many members of the public commented positively on the students of Wood Green School, saying we brought such a fun presence to the countryside, being respectful and good natured in the heat.
Many students fulfilled the promise of fun costumes, with at least 5 bananas popping up and some people even arriving on dinosaurs!
We asked Mr Askew what his biggest achievement is Wood Green. His answer was that while he does see this as a sort of ‘parting gift’, what makes him proud of his teaching career is making a difference in the lives of the students he has taught.
Being a teacher to him is the “the biggest privilege of (his) life.”
This means having the ability to give children the opportunities that he never had in life, through support, encouragement and achievement continues to be the driving force behind his teaching.
Overall the school raised over £22,000 which will be put into developing the student experience. This includes creating a better presentation environment in the school hall where productions and assemblies are held, and buying new benches or sports equipment to allow for the outside spaces at our school to be inclusive and beneficial.
Altogether, Mr Askew has calculated that the school walked 8,000 miles. Which equates to walking to Canada and back!
Hopefully Mr Askew might watch us on the next one in 3yrs time!
