Cullingworth Village Primary School held their annual fun run last week. In previous years this has been held on the viaduct located adjacent to the school however this year to celebrate the opening of the schools new facilities it was held on the school grounds. The event brought together pupils, staff, parents and community volunteers. Parkside Secondary School assisted in supporting the races by providing their sports leaders to set the race pace and run alongside pupils from Cullingworth.
The new route included the recently constructed running track and forest schools pathway. The pupils started and ended the race from the new multi use games area, which has recently been completed. Children ran in and under a giant balloon arch.
The annual fun run is not only designed to ignite the children’s passion for physical exercise and promote mental wellbeing but it also raises valuable funds to enhance the school facilities. The fun run was started by the previous headteacher Kate Sutcliffe in 2018 for Sport Relief. The run was such a popular event that from 2019 it became an annual fundraising event working towards supporting school funds. The money raised by this annual event and the Summer fair totalled forty thousand pounds over the six years. This significant sum raised by pupils, staff and parents along with a sixty thousand pound school condition allocation grant contributed to the school being able to have the multi use games area constructed. The games area has football nets and basketball hoops and is marked out for a variety of sports. This facility has enhanced the sporting opportunities both within the curriculum , during break times and after school. Last week the school held its first football competition on the new games area with Oxenhope CE of Primary, another local school attending with their under 11 team.
Earlier this year the forest schools area was further enhanced to support the schools vision and commitment to being a sustainable school. This included a new pathway to allow grater accessibility, a large shelter, water recycling systems, new planting beds and refurbishment of the poly tunnel.
Cathy Isaac, Headteacher at Cullingworth Village Primary, expressed her excitement about the event:
“ This collaborative event marks the opening of our new facilities, which will further enhance our pupils experience of learning and playing outdoors” “We are grateful for the continued community and parent support with fundraising events and are grateful to the sports leaders at Parkside secondary school for supporting this important event in our school calendar”
Marc Burrow, Head of Estates BDAT said:
“As a Trust we have a commitment to climate sustainability. We know it matters to our young people and the communities they live in. By investing in the outdoor forest school development at Cullingworth – including the new planting area and pergola, and by using sustainable materials such as the polytunnels for growing fruit and vegetables, we hopefully improve the learning environment and assist in bringing to life teaching and learning using new environmentally friendly resources and technologies”