ACE achievements by Year 7!

In April 2024, Year 7 started Saint Aidan’s Active Christian Ethics or ‘ACE’ Award. This award was designed by the RE Department to help students reflect on inspirational people throughout history and across the world which culminated in students doing something inspirational themselves – fundraising for a charity they are passionate about!

Year 7 had time in lessons to plan their fundraising activity and were given the task to carry it out over the summer holiday to raise as much money as possible for their chosen charity. It was a daunting task for some, to fundraise independently, but wow did they rise to the occasion! Overall, as a year group, a massive £8671.41 was raised for various charities!

Well done to everyone who fundraised. You all displayed outstanding Christian values and any amount, big or small, helps make a difference to charities and the people they help.

Oliver embarks on the cycling section of his Triathlon.

Student Oliver Selway says:

During the summer I decided to do a junior triathlon, (6km bike, 2km run and a 200 metre swim). I did this for British Heart Foundation as both my grandads have had a heart attack before. I found it quite challenging as it required lots of determination and fitness although I often do sports. I raised the money from a go fund me page and successfully raised £706 in total. I learnt that doing a little challenge can make a significant amount of money and that people really appreciate my effort. Personally I learnt that some things come easy and there are challenges in life. I learnt have to use determination and dedication to fulfil them.

Blair Basson states:

I decided that my chosen charity would be Cancer Research UK as my grandad unfortunately passed away due to cancer, so it is a charity close to my heart. It is also one of the leading causes of death in the UK according to National Cancer Institute.
I raised the money by running a 5k park run at Stanley Park. As this was my first ever 5k I was unsure how I would get on, but surprised my self and enjoyed the experience. This experience has also given me the confidence to take on new challenges, and hopefully run more events like this in the future.

Tom and Leo in their home-made ‘Sweet Shop’.

Tom Potts writes:

At the end of the summer term, Leo Lambert and I decided to work together to do the ACE Award. There were many elements of it that we needed to sort out. In the end, we decided on selling sweets to support the Rainbow Hub (a charity that helps many children with disabilities in the north west).

At the weekend Leo and his family went and bought a massive amount of sweets and on the Tuesday after that, I went round to his house, where we packed hundreds of goody bags. On the first day selling them, we made enough money to pay off the sweets. This meant that all the money we made on the day after could go to charity. We sold them at breaktime and during form time. After that, Leo sold the remaining sweets at his cricket club, adding even more money onto the total. After we counted the money, we discovered that we had made over £240.

Nia Morris says:

This Summer, I raised £460 for my chosen Ace Award charity, Shark Trust. I chose this charity because I have always been fascinated by sharks since I was young. I raised money for the Shark Trust by walking around Poulton, dressed in an inflatable shark costume. From this experience, I learnt that where I live has a very strong community spirit. I realised this because people would stop me on the street for selfies, to give me money or even just to show an interest in what I was doing. This was most likely due to my quite eye-catching fundraising method. Overall, I believe it has been a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.