Worthing primary school raises thousands for children’s charity

Vale Primary School in Findon Valley raised an incredible £4,743, through a sponsored Jump Start Jonny-athon, that featured Jonny himself.

Vale School set up this sponsored event to raise money for the charity after it gave a free, Speak Out, Stay Safe talk.

Deputy Headteacher, Sarah Granger said: “The NSPCC are so important in helping children stay safe - that’s why we wanted to raise as much money as possible for this incredible charity.

Jump Start Jonny is a fitness initiative to help fight childhood obesity, started by Jonny Stewart. Jonny creates videos of exercises, dance routines and warm downs that are easy to follow and keep children interested in fitness.

The school already regularly use Jonny’s videos , which have proven to be a firm favourite amongst students, making it an easy decision for the school to host a Jonny-athon to raise the money.

Jonny’s attendance to the event was kept a secret from the children until the day.

First thing in the morning, children and parents gathered in the school hall to take part in the first exercise activity of the day and that is where they were surprised by Jonny for a live exercise session.

Sarah said: “there was so much excitement in the room when Jonny came out, lots of enthusiasm and lots of smiles.”

When the pupils finished their live session they went back to class and resumed their days as normal but with a twist.

Every hour the children had to stop what they were doing and take part in another Jump-start Jonny routine, some of these were done in classes, others were in the hall, meaning year groups could join up.

Sarah said: “This was such a fantastic event, that raised an incredible amount of money to help such a good cause.

“We would definitely love to do something like this again.”

Jonny Stewart, known to the children as Jump Start Jonny said: “Visiting The Vale for their Jump Start Jonny fundraiser was easily one of the most memorable and exciting school visits I’ve ever done!

“The children didn’t know I was coming, so when I burst out of the cleaning cupboard and leapt onto the stage, the energy and excitement from the children (and teachers!) was unreal. It was like a concert with the loud music and bright lights, and hearing 800 children shouting ‘WHOOOPA’ was something I won’t forget in a hurry. I don’t know about the children but I was buzzing for days after!”

All of the money was raised entirely through sponsorship for the children and has all been donated to the charity to help support its vital campaigns, like Speak Out, Stay Safe.

The NSPCC Speak Out, Stay Safe talk aims to equip a generation of children with the knowledge and understanding they need to stay safe from abuse and neglect. Children are taught to speak out if they are worried, either to a trusted adult or Childline.