A group of nine to eleven-year-old pupils from Academy of Trinity Primary School, in Radstock, lived up to their school's motto of 'Making People Feel Good' by taking part in a sponsored triathlon last weekend to raise much-needed money for the 'FAST' charity in Romania. The charity sets up projects to provide practical help and hope for children and families living in extreme poverty.

The team of Joe, Tilly, Euan, Imogen, Alfie, Anna, Findley, Caitlin, Archie, Sophie-Eloise, Mary-Jean, Frank and Layla completed the cycle-swim-run in record times!  Within hours of completing the challenge, the group embarked on a week- long trip to Romania with their parents and teaching staff from Academy of Trinity to see first-hand the work that is achieved by FAST UK.

The team said: "Our original target was to raise £500, but with the help of our family and friends, we smashed our first target within days! We reset our goal to £1,000, then thought £1,500 was out of reach, but we have now gone past that too and set a new target of £2,000! We never dreamed we would be able to make such a difference to the lives of other children. When we get to Romania, we will be working with FAST and deciding how the money should be spent." 

The school have been fundraising in other ways too, holding a Romanian Evening at the school which raised a further £650 and one pupil, Euen, raised an incredible £300 holding his own Romanian event! The Midsomer Norton and Radstock Rotary Club also sent a £200 donation, bringing the total raised so far close to £3,000, surpassing all their expectations!

Each of the children visiting Romania will have a choice on the distribution of the sponsor money. It may buy school equipment, toys and clothes for the children or even buy tools and training so that household repairs can be carried out to prepare the families for the winter. Trinity originally developed strong links with the founders of FAST, Daniel and Ema, through their Reception Class teacher, Becki McArthur, who lived and worked in the orphanages and schools before she took up her teaching post at Trinity. Along with Trinity's Head Teacher, Pepe Hart, they organised the very first visit from their school back in 2011 and they have now established a firm friendship with the charity workers who welcome the Trinity visitors to stay with them at the home of their charity in the town of Sacele.

Pepe Hart said, "Our pupils at our school are true role models and we are so proud of them all. It will be a life-changing experience for those travelling for the first time and a chance for us to go back and see the positive impact our fundraising has made to the Rroma community we have helped support over the last few years. We feel they are truly part of our Trinity family!"

The scale of the school's fundraising meant that their cause was one of the top three Justgiving pages in May. If you would like to donate, please go to: http://www.justgiving.com/TriathlonFAST/Primary">www.justgiving.com/TriathlonFAST/Primary School, in Radstock, lived up to their school's motto of 'Making People Feel Good' by taking part in a sponsored triathlon last weekend to raise much-needed money for the 'FAST' charity in Romania. The charity sets up projects to provide practical help and hope for children and families living in extreme poverty.