St Hilary’s Prep School, in Godalming, took to their stairs and steps on Friday 12th February to collectively climb the equivalent height of Mount Kilimanjaro, raising money and awareness for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND).
Paul Jameson, a friend of the school community, whose three children attended the school and one of which now works at the school, provided inspiration for the challenge. Paul has been living with MND since 2017 and has dedicated his time to fund raising for the MND Association. One of his earliest fundraising missions was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and play a tennis match at the summit, which he achieved and was awarded a World Record for the highest altitude tennis match! Paul has raised over £150,000 for the MND Association and has been awarded a British Empire Medal for his fundraising work. He is an absolute inspiration!
The pupils, staff and families of St Hilary’s faced the challenge with enthusiasm and excitement and it was an excellent way of bringing the School community together when they have actually been quite dispersed as a result of the Lockdown. Donning their boots, coats and rucksacks, boys, girls and the staff climbed their stairs and steps with gusto with many adding ropes, flags and goggles for the full effect! The target was to climb a combined total of 31,026 stairs, however the community ‘pulled it out of the bag’ and recorded a total of 274,526 stairs - meaning that they actually climbed the equivalent height of Mount Kilimanjaro nearly nine times! To date, they have raised over £13,000 including Gift Aid.
Paul’s outlook on life is “you’ve got one life, live it!” He is an excellent example of resilience, courage, optimism, making every day count and being positive in the face of adversity. These are all important messages for our children and very much in line with the School’s values. Indeed, these are common values that the school prides itself on and encourages its pupils to embrace. In 2020 the school was voted to be ‘Independent Prep School of the Year’ for its ‘energy, super range of activities and demonstrably strong school values,’ which are embedded in the ethos of the School and underpins everything they do.
Following this initial event, St Hilary’s School now plans to pass on The MND Schools’ Challenge to other schools and organisations to continue the spread the awareness and fund raising for the MND Association. With an ambitious target to raise a total of £1 million, St Hilary’s are interested to hear from schools and organisations who would like to take on the challenge. A full toolkit and information pack is available to support others who wish to take part. Donations can be made to the Virgin Just Giving website – search for ‘MND Schools Challenge.’
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