Seventy-eight staff from the Island’s schools entered the 2018 Parish Walk in response to a challenge from colleagues in Manx Sport and Recreation (MSR).
MSR – which is part of Department of Education, Sport and Culture – leads much of the work to deliver the Government’s ten year strategy for sport, which aims to get more people, more active, more often.
Christian Varley of MSR said:
'As part of the government department tasked with delivering the strategy for sport, it seems only right that we work together to lead from the front and ‘practice what we preach’.
'We have a great relationship with schools but of course the majority of our work is with pupils and students. We decided to reach out to staff and set a fun challenge – seeing how many would sign-up for the Parish Walk with the aim of making it as far as Santon. We had a fantastic response and are really pleased with the result.'
Sarah Hitchen, who works at Bunscoil Rhumsaa, said:
'At Rhumsaa, we enjoy a challenge and when we saw a post about the Parish Walk Challenge on social media it was quickly shared between a number of staff, and before we knew it we had 16 participants.
'As a school we are very proud that our staff take wellbeing seriously for both staff and pupils. Taking part in the event has increased our awareness of wellbeing and the importance of an active lifestyle.
'It is exciting for us, as staff, to have the opportunity to represent our school in such a large event and we have a lot to live up to as our pupils do such a great job all year.'
