Pupils from Papplewick School, currently living across thirteen different time zones, have taken part in a ‘race around the world’ fitness challenge to keep active and engage with the school during remote learning.
The boys have been set various challenges since lockdown was announced in March, in addition to being remotely taught a full timetable of live lessons for all year groups.
The challenge asked year groups to race each other ‘around the world’, with the first team back at Papplewick winning the race. With a total of 40,075km to complete the race, each year group was given a ‘value’ of km to walk, run or cycle; for example, in year two 1km would equal 120km, whilst in year eight 1km would equal 35km.
At one point, teams were ‘travelling’ across Asia, with years four and five and the staff team in Mongolia, while others were gathered in central Russia.
Parents reported some “huge bike rides and long runs” taking place, with many parents their children supporting alongside – some even donned their own rollerblades.
Other challenges set by the school during lockdown include an extreme reading challenge, where boys posted photos of themselves reading whilst somersaulting on trampolines, riding pogo sticks or high up in trees.
Papplewick School educates boys aged six to 13. On the school’s website, headmaster Tom Bunbury said: “We know that boys of this age have a natural spark and individuality about them, and I believe these are qualities that should be celebrated throughout their time at prep school.
“We also know that boys thrive on high expectations and challenge, whether in the classroom, on the sports field, or in the arts.”
