The 'Great' GANF Run just got even greater!

Back in July 2018, six members of staff from Ambergate Sports College, part of Grantham Additional Needs Fellowship (GANF), set off on an epic 24-hour challenge where they ran over 120 miles in 24 hours across Lincolnshire, raising funds to enhance the curriculum for their pupils.

Comfortably achieving their target, they have decided to make their new challenge even bigger two years on!

Ambergate Sports College cater for pupils between the ages of three and 19 with moderate to severe learning difficulties and complex needs.

Their pupils' needs are wide ranging; many are on the autistic spectrum, with others having ADHD and varying degrees of developmental delay, and some with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties.

Thus, providing alternative opportunities outside the classroom are vital to the needs and learning requirements of the pupils.

The school is raising money for an outdoor amphitheatre for their pupils.

They have £2,905 in the pot, and need to reach a target of £10,000, so they have decided to add an additional 25 miles to the journey, attempting a total of 145 miles in just 24 hours!

The run will take in Lincolnshire landmarks along the way.

Beginning at the school in Grantham, the team comprising of eight members of staff will run 5km stints in a relay format with the first checkpoint being Belton House.

From there, they will head to Lincoln and visit both Sincil Bank, home of Lincoln City Football Club, and Lincoln Cathedral.

Throughout the night, the team will take in Tattershall Castle as they head East to Skegness Clock Tower before filtering back towards home via Boston Stump.

With the finish line in sight, the final two landmarks will be Ayscoughfee Hall in Spalding and Grimsthorpe Castle just outside Bourne.

Passionate about both their challenge and the curriculum for Ambergate's pupils, the 'Greater' GANF Run team will be providing live video and text updates throughout the challenge, which you can follow via their GANF Facebook and Twitter pages.

Don't forget to also use the hashtag #greaterGANFrun to show your support for the team.

Although the challenge will not commence until the last day of the academic year, Friday 17 July, preparations are already in full flow with plenty of training sessions taking place – particularly as the team know they will be up against the clock with each 5km section needing to average less than 30 minutes across the 24 hours!

The eight-strong team are: James Ellis – Headteacher, Ashley Caress – Deputy Headteacher, Richard Butterworth – Teacher, Ollie Maltby – Teacher, Joe Bogumsky – Enrichment Co-ordinator, Jack Gurney – Sports Apprentice, Chris Lincoln – Schools Communications Champion, Sam Rose – Instructor

The Headteacher of the school, James Ellis, said: "The funds we raised from the last run have allowed us to start preparations for our amphitheatre and pupils have been undertaking performances on a temporary stage.

"However, to complete the theatre we need additional funding. The theatre will provide pupils with invaluable opportunities to develop their drama skills which in turn will enhance their social skills.

"As a staff team, we wanted to try and push ourselves even further by attempting 145 miles in 24 hours which is going to be extremely difficult.

"The support from the last run was incredible and we will need that support again to make sure we have a chance of achieving this feat."

You can follow updates of training with video interviews and blog updates by clicking the red button below before LIVE updates throughout the event.

If you would like to sponsor the team, please text 'run' plus your donation to 70085 (eg text run20 to make a £20 donation).