FORTY girls from Roedean conquered their fear of heights in the name of animal charity when they abseiled down Brighton’s iconic i360 tower at night.
The teens are on a quest to raise as much money as they can for the Sussex charity Raystede after hearing that the centre takes a whopping £6000 a day to run.
The schoolgirls have made the charity their chosen beneficiary for all sorts of fund-raising events and have so far brought in a whopping £8592 but hope that abseiling 450ft in the dark will boost the coffers even further.
Leading the charge and kitted up for action was head of year 9 Nicky Shrubsole who declared that she would not ask her pupils to do anything that she wouldn’t do herself.
She laughed: “I’m also a real dog lover so this is a charity close to my heart. I have been actually feeling OK about this abseil – just as long as it’s not wobbly once I’m up there. The girls, being teens, have not thought about this challenge until the actual day arrived and I think there have been nerves but it’s for such a great charity and everyone wants to get as much money for them as possible.”
Pupil Megs Wienekus, 14, added: “This is a once in a lifetime experience so how could I not do it? Plus I really love animals and want them all to be safe and well-cared for. Dangling from a harness so high up is an awesome thought!”
Raystede event manager Arron Polton said: “The school has already broken their target of raising enough to cover one day’s total running costs and now they are pushing through to raise more which is wonderful. We are so grateful to schools who help us out – it takes £2m a year to run Raystede and every single penny helps.”
Raystede is one of the most diverse rescue centres in the UK because it cares for so many different species of animals, with more than 1,200 vulnerable animals looked after each year on the 43-acre Ringmer site.
Categories: Roedean School School News
