Staff and pupils from Ysgol Penllwyn and Penrhyncoch have raised £2,645 by taking part in this year’s Wales Air Ambulance’s virtual Walk Wales – castle to castle challenge.

Headteacher Steffan Davies and teacher Bryn Shepherd set themselves the challenge of walking 50 miles in one day.

They were also joined by Bryn’s girlfriend Becca Hughes and the Wales Air Ambulance’s mascot ‘Dell’ the dragon.

During the day other teachers joined their colleagues to complete either the 35 or 16 miles distances.

The pupils from both schools were set the challenge to walk the virtual distance from Dinas Bran Castle to Caergwrle Castle, which is 16 miles and around 36,000 steps.

Walk Wales allowed walkers a chance to set themselves a target based on the number of steps they could achieve over a one-month period from the comfort of their own homes.

Each target was the equivalent of a walk between iconic Welsh castles and could be achieved at home, in the garden or during exercise, taking the dog for a walk – and even going up and down the stairs!

Reflecting on why they took part in Walk Wales, Bryn said: “We were very keen to organise a fundraising event over the half term holidays as it was a great way to keep everyone active and to engage with our parents and communities as it has been so hard to do so with the Covid restrictions in schools.

“We did a similar event during February half term and had great participation from our school’s families.

“We were looking to do something similar with a purpose and I happened to see James Hook share the Walk Wales challenge on social media and instantly realised this was just what we were looking for.”

It took Steffan, Bryn and Becca 18 hours to complete the 50-mile challenge, which was the distance of Carreg Cennen Castle to Pembroke Castle.

The children and their parents completed their16 miles over a course of a week.

The schools are delighted how successful the event was, Bryn, said: “The support from the school has been excellent with the majority of the parents and children participating.

“The support during the day was excellent for us teachers with many pupils and parents coming out to support along the way.”

Headteacher, Mr Davies, said: “As a school community we were able to raise £2,645. I am extremely proud of the children, staff, parents and all associated with the school for taking part and raising money for a very worthy cause.

“It was great to see so many children taking part in the challenge.”