Pupils to walk up Wrekin for cancer fundraiser

More than 300 pupils will take part in the walk, which is raising money for cancer charity Macmillan

More than 300 primary school pupils will walk up the Wrekin to raise money for a cancer charity.

The fundraiser was prompted after a teacher at Newdale Primary School in Telford was diagnosed with the disease last autumn. He has since recovered after care from cancer services.

After walking to the top of the 1,334ft (406.6m) landmark hill, the pupils, staff and parents, will create a human heart shape with their bodies.

"The treatment he had from specialists at Telford hospital, and from Macmillan, was amazing, and we wanted to show some support," said headteacher Rachel Cook.

The school's youngest children make their own 'human heart' on Tuesday as part of the fundraiser

"We've asked the children to dress in either white or red, so we're going to create a heart with the ratio of colours 1:2," she told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"This represents the number of people in our country that will have cancer in their lives.

"We'll be thinking about those people and celebrating the fact that, with the support from specialists within cancer wards and at Macmillian, that thankfully a lot of those people are cured."

The school does not have a fundraising target and aims to raise as much as possible.

More than £1,500 has been donated to the cause so far.

The school's youngest children also took part in the fundraising, by undertaking their own sponsored walk around the school grounds on Tuesday.