Sue Radford, mother of Melody Radford, a year four pupil at Blackawton Primary School, recently received a second cancer diagnosis after previously being in remission. Sue and her husband, Paul, have two children at our school, Melody and Koby.

The recurrence of Sue’s cancer was the impetus for Melody’s first fundraising back in February this year. Melody, with the help of Teaching Assistant, Karen O’Toole, organised a successful Bring Your Teddy to School Day. This event raised £150 for Cancer Research UK.

Now the two fundraisers were determined to organise an event to raise further funds for Cancer Research but one in which the whole school could participate. So, on Tuesday, June 27th, Blackawton Primary School held their inaugural Cancer Research UK Schools Race for Life.

They were fortunate to have the weather on their side and the children chose to walk, jog or run the course. Each class discussed how many laps they thought they could cover in an allotted time and they were encouraged to really challenge themselves to do “just one more lap”.

The event was supported by the whole school and the older children chose to spend their break time encouraging and supporting the younger children and helping them to complete the course. It was a real team effort and a great achievement by all the children.

At the end of the school day, children were presented with their Race for Life medals during a special assembly to which parents were invited to attend.

Tina Rodwell-Lynn, Head of School, said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to Karen O’Toole for co-ordinating the entire event. The event was a huge success and I am extremely proud of all the children for raising money in the spirit of others”.

Karen added: “Race for Life is a great addition to our school’s timetable and the children absolutely rose to the challenge.

“We have so far collected in excess of £900 in sponsorship money, which is an amazing amount and there is still more to come. We look forward to Race for Life being an annual event in our school calendar.”

Melody’s mum, Sue added: “I am so proud of all the children and staff at Blackawton school for taking part in this good cause.

“Karen and Melody have worked hard to organize this event and I was honored to be asked to give out the medals to all the children that did the race for life, and pleased that it was just a couple of days after I was given the news that my treatment worked and I am now in remission.

“I am especially proud of Melody for organizing the race for life after I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for the second time in two years. She has managed to turn a very hard time into something positive, raising money and awareness.

“Melody is now saying that she wants to work in cancer research or as a cancer doctor, proof that good can come from every difficulty we must face.”