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Chernobyl children all set
for New Brighton Fun Run
A group of children from Chernobyl
visiting Wirral for a month's respite will take part in a new fun run as part of
their trip. The group of 21 children, who are aged between 8 and 13 years old,
are staying with host families across Wirral as part of a special visit
organised by the Chernobyl Children's Life Line charity.
The children's fun run is on Sunday, 28 June, and covers a choice of three
distances:– 1K, 2K and 3K. The new event, organised by race organisers BTR, will
take place on The Dips on Coastal Drive at the seaside resort.
After being contacted by the charity, BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell approached
Bubbles World of Play at New Brighton's Marine Point and invited them to get
involved. Without hesitation, the Bubbles team agreed to sponsor the group of
children to take part in the 1K fun run, followed by lunch and a play experience
at the children's adventure centre.
The trip has been organised by the Wirral branch of Chernobyl Children's Life
Line. The children have travelled from Belarus, which received 70% of the
radioactive fall-out from the explosion in 1986.
Each year, the charity needs to raise £15,000 to fund the visit, which covers
flights, visas, transport and activities. Most of the monies are raised through
the charity's shop on King Street in Wallasey. During the visit the children
will also receive dental treatment and visit the opticians.
Peter Collard, Manager of Bubbles World of Play commented:- "When BTR
approached us about the group of children visiting from Chernobyl, we were only
too delighted to help. We'll be cheering on the youngsters as they enjoy their
run, then we're looking forward to welcoming the group for an afternoon of fun
and games; and our mascot Bubbles the Panda Bear cannot wait to meet them."
Sue Riley, Wirral Joint Chair of Chernobyl Children's Life Line, said:-
"It's going to be fantastic to see the children take part in the 1K fun run.
They have such a difficult life at home in Belarus, that seeing them take part
in activities which make them smile is such an important part of their visit. A
month in the UK at this critical time in their lives increases their life
chances by boosting their immune system."
BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for creating, managing and
delivering headline race events in Liverpool City Region. Its growing portfolio
includes the Mersey Tunnel 10K, Port Sunlight 10K/5K, Vitality Liverpool ½
Marathon, BTR Liverpool Santa Dash, and 52 mile BTR Tour Of Merseyside (6
races over 7 days).
BTR recently won the title of Event Of The Year at the Wirral Tourism Awards
2015 for the Wirral ½ Marathon/10K.
BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell added:- "Each year our children's Mini
Santa Dash and 1K Port Sunlight fun run prove extremely popular as part of our
main races, so we feel that it's important to now give youngsters a fun run
event of their own. It's going to be an excellent family event with activities
taking place alongside the fun runs. We are delighted to have joined
forces with Bubbles, who are kindly sponsoring the group of children from
Chernobyl to take part. I am sure the children will thoroughly enjoy the event,
especially when they are presented with their medal for taking part."
The times for the fun runs are 1K at 10am; 2K at 10.45am; 3K at 11.30am. Adults
can accompany children round the course, but cannot take part.
The entry fee is £8 per child per fun run distance. All children will receive a
medal and goody bag. Entries are open, visit:-
BTRLiverpool.com
for more details.
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New £20 million school gets
green light
THE new £20 million St Julie's Catholic
High School in Liverpool has been given planning permission. The redevelopment
of the Woolton School; 90% of which will be on its existing footprint; will
create a new fit for purpose building for up to 1,100 pupils.
The 3 and 4 storey building replaces a worn out and tired 1960's building which
is no longer fit for modern teaching methods and needs significant repairs and
maintenance.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:- "The new St Julie's Catholic High
School is much needed because the existing building is long past its sell by
date.
We have been able to come up with a plan which delivers a new school largely on
the existing site, minimising disruption to pupils and local residents.
This scheme is a pragmatic and sensible solution that will deliver a fantastic
new school for the area, benefiting hundreds of families who live in and around Woolton,
as well as the wider community."
The buildings have been sympathetically
designed in line with the Woolton Village Conservation Area, and will be further
away from the Grade 1 listed Woolton Hall than the existing school.
The new complex will also include multi use games area and sports hall which
will be available for use by the local community, and will give the school more
outside play space than it currently has.
Head teacher of St Julie's, Tim Alderman, said:- "We are delighted that St
Julie's, first founded in Liverpool when Sisters of Notre Dame came here in
1851, will be secured as part of Woolton Village for many years to come in state
of the art, beautiful buildings and surroundings. It will be a fabulous
environment for children to grow and learn in."
Under the plans, the 3 acre neighbouring private woodland will be opened up to
the local community for the 1st time; creating 5 times more public space than
is being lost due to the change in the school's footprint.
Ideas for the new public space include a children's play area, woodland trail,
cycle routes, trim trail and woodland management if deemed appropriate. It will
be funded as part of the school development as a community-led project.
The project is part of the Liverpool Schools Investment Programme, which will
see at least 12 new schools built. It was devised as a rescue package following
the scrapping of Wave 6 of Liverpool's Building Schools for the Future (BSF)
project in 2010, and is one of the Mayor's key pledges.
The school is expected to be completed in the academic year 2016 to 2017.
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