Parents to row for playground

A GROUP of parents and a teacher from a Henley school are to attempt a 22-mile row to raise money for a new playground.

The 16 rowers from Sacred Heart primary will row downstream from Goring Rowing Club to Henley Rowing Club tomorrow (Saturday).

The journey should take them about five hours and they have been in training for the past eight weeks, rowing up to 5km each time they go out.

The school playground is in desperate need of repair as it has potholes and the equipment is
outdated.

The fundraiser was the idea of Jeff and Rachel Ellison whose six-year-old daughter Poppy is a pupil, and their target is £8,000.

Mr Ellison, 62, is a coach at Henley Rowing Club and has donated his time to help the novice rowers prepare. His wife also rows with the club.

Mrs Ellison said: “Our current playground has become a health and safety issue for the children, with numerous potholes posing constant trip hazards.

“As a small school with a high level of children with English as a second language and children with special needs, we are committed to creating a safe environment for all. The cost to resurface is very high and our school budgets do not stretch to new playgrounds.

“We have decided to reach out to the wider community for assistance in making this dream playground a reality. The resurfacing would fix our immediate health and safety issues, giving us a base to build on over time. We are looking for pledges to help us reach our target.”

She said all the parents were looking forward to doing the row. “It is going to be something completely different for them as lots had never rowed before they started training,” said Mrs Ellison.

“Jeff had done other rows for charity and this seemed like a great opportunity to get the school community involved.

“Henley Rowing Club have kindly allowed us use of their equipment and Goring Rowing Club are kindly allowing us to launch from their boathouse.

Mr Ellison said: “It will be a challenge for them. We have a few who will be swapping places at the locks but three-quarters of them will complete the full row.

“We will be setting off earlier than we initially planned to get ahead of the sun and avoid the boat traffic. We are planning to take around five hours, just to allow time for the locks. Over the last three sessions they have been working really well and becoming a team rowing together.”

Poppy has been helping her parents by taking photos when the rowers are on the water.

Headteacher Rachel Sanders said: “The teachers and parents have been training super-hard and we are all so proud of their efforts.

“We have such lovely open spaces and beautiful wooded areas at the back of the school for the children to play in and this exciting project will add even more fun. A huge thank-you to everyone involved.”

The rowers are Hayley Alvey, Jo Anderson, Julieta Blanes, Suzanne Brass, Rachel Ellison, Jeff Ellison, Diana Forbes, Ben Forbes, Jade Gower, Ali Jean-Jean, Lucy Jean-Jean, Petro Kriachko, Aoife McPhillips, Ada Mercade, Kylie Smith and Alexandra Stafferton.