On Tuesday 7th December, the Wilson's School Charity Committee held a static cycling race in the John Jenkins hall as their opening event, in order to raise money for Centrepoint - the school's chosen charity to contribute to, this academic year.
Centrepoint is a youth homelessness charity who support young people build a better future for themselves by providing them with the accommodation and resources to do so.
The race involved teachers up against sixth-formers, using stationary bicycles that had been brought in from the fitness suite. 46 competitors participated from each side, in 20-minute intervals, including the grand finale of the Headmaster (Mr. Cole) versus the School Captain Ronnie Guha - an experienced cyclist. One of the students taking part included Divy Dayal (Year 13) who was really excited to race considering he had "never competed against anyone on any previous event like this". He found it to be a thrilling experience with the "intense build-up, crowd cheering, and music blasting". The race was particularly competitive for him as he was racing against his form tutor and "would never hear the end of it" if he lost, but fortunately, he was victorious. The event should "absolutely occur again", he said, as "it brought a thrill to a dull December Tuesday for the entire school." He also thought it was a good decision to make the student team sixth-form only as it gave the race a more competitive edge - given they are "taller and faster [for the most part]."
Furthermore, whilst acknowledging that the school has raised a "phenomenal sum of money" in the spirit of 'Non Sibi Sed Omnibus' (the school's motto - 'Not For Oneself But For All'), Divy suggests that the school could raise awareness outside of the school too in local community groups to the people "more likely to be a victim of poverty and homelessness."
Finally, after eight hours of arduous cycling, the students took the victory after achieving 233.8km compared to the teachers' 232.5km though the real victory was for charity, considering the combined effort of both sides raised approximately £1000.
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