On Saturday, 26th April, five Sixth Form students from the Midsomer Norton Sixth Form and two accompanying members of staff successfully walked 26.7 miles in and around Bath as part of the 'Bath Beat Challenge', which is a popular annual event for both walkers and runners.

The aim of the walk for the Sixth Form team was to raise money for their intrepid trip in July, travelling as volunteers with African Adventures to help work on local community projects in Nakuru, an impoverished region of Kenya, East Africa. The students will be primarily working in a school, helping children with their daily lives and on practical tasks to improve basic facilities.

The walk was designed to loop around Bath and its outlying villages, with the walk commencing at Ralph Allen School. The team hiked their way out of Bath, walking through Bathampton, then down to the historic village of Norton St Phillip and back up through the rural village of Wellow, eventually returning to their starting point at Ralph Allen School. Along the way were various check-points, where the team had to answer questions.

If the walk wasn't challenging enough, the route description had been written in code. Student team member, Jack Bridges, became an expert in code reading and navigated the whole 26.7 miles without getting the team lost!

Staff member, Louise Kiveal, commented about the experience: "We had a fantastic day of walking and the support along the walk was excellent. The forecast in the run up to the weekend didn't look promising, but despite the odds, we were lucky that the day remained largely dry. There was, however, a lot of mud! It was a fantastically well-organised event and I know that we all felt we had gained a great sense of achievement for a very worthwhile cause."

The Midsomer Norton Sixth Form has asked that if anyone would like to donate to this fantastic cause, please contact Sharon Chard at Norton Hill School. Any donations would be gratefully received. The team has asked to extend its thanks to the organisers of the Bath Beat Challenge for the fantastic support on the day and for their kind donation to their trip.