Once again, MHS rose to the occasion by fronting not just one but TWO boats for the annual event at Bewl Water.
Our able paddlers and drummers (a total of 34 in all) braved the elements last Saturday morning to compete with 30 other teams for the coveted trophy. Thankfully the weather smiled on us, and whilst it was cool and breezy for most of the day (making for slightly more challenging racing conditions), we were spared a downpour when it came our turn!
Team MHS who in years gone by have set a standard of selling sumptuous cakes and brownies at these events, went about preparing a splendid array of delicious offerings for the festival attendees. We managed to raise over £170 from cake sales alone, with more to come from the JustGiving page set up for this occasion. There is still time to donate to our fundraising target so please do sponsor our teams.
Much effort had gone into preparing the teams beforehand, with Friends of MHS this year supporting a local charity, the Weald Family Hub, to raise its profile and much needed funds at this event. The Weald Family Hub has been providing mental health support to children and young people in our area since 2018, by offering 1:1 counselling for children attending local primary schools. This is particularly important at a time when 1 in 5 children aged 8-16 have a probable mental health disorder, and only 34% of children who are referred on the NHS are able to access treatment.
It was a lovely occasion to see staff members, along with parents and children from all year groups coming together to make this event such a success. Sadly, our teams did not make the final race, but still managed a respectable 9th and 11th position overall, with only a few seconds difference between them. Well done to our rowers and drummers who gave it their all on the day. Despite many sore arms and legs the day after, our teams did MHS proud and certainly raised our profile within the local community. Onwards and upwards for next year!
Tuck-Kay and Emma Loke, MHS Parents
A huge thank you to Mr and Mrs Loke for their hard work organising this fantastic day.