16 March 2021

Our Miles for Your Minds

Throughout February, staff at Newport Girls’ High School came together to raise almost £4000 for MIND. At a time when the mental health of our young people has never been so prevalent, the team of over 20 staff joined forces mentally to challenge themselves to run, walk and/or cycle over 2895 miles cumulatively (from Newport to Gibraltar!) to promote the positive effects physical activity can have on our mental health. Early mornings, evenings and weekends were taken up with physical exercise in the vicinity of colleague’s homes.

The challenge was pioneered by Danielle Martin, NGHS’s Wellbeing Officer for Year 11-13 students who commented: “The staff at NGHS are a tight-knit community. Being a smaller school, colleagues from both teaching and support sectors all know and support each other and this has been particularly important over the past twelve months. It has been a pleasure to provide a weekly update in the Headteacher’s newsletter about our progress and it has been lovely to see so many staff get involved”.

NGHS’s Headteacher Michael Scott commented: “Throughout the pandemic, our staff have acted with great sympathy and understanding of the difficulties that students and families have faced in lockdown at home. The pandemic has taught us all that we are stronger together and our students love to discover more about what staff do outside of work! I am very proud of all my colleagues for being first-class role-models for our students at this difficult time.”

The staff enjoyed some incredible mental and financial support from friends, families, students and parents along the way, not to mention from Liverpool Football Club and MIND’s very own ambassador Duke Mackenzie MBE, who sent messages of encouragement to the group on social media.