Published on: Monday, September 13, 2021
This summer our pupil Josh K undertook the Padstow to Rock Swim to raise money for Marie Curie. Josh, who is 12-years-old and from Bridgwater, was one of over 300 swimmers to take part in the one-mile open-water swim on Saturday 7 August across the Camel Estuary.
In preparation for the event, Josh spent time practising his swimming in the sea and in rivers, which wasn’t without its difficulties. Josh said: “Prior to this I hadn’t done any swim races in the sea so I had to do lots of training. I swam in local rivers and in the sea in Wales. I even got stung by a jellyfish on my face!”
Speaking after the event, Josh continued “When it came to the swim I felt really confident that I could finish and even though I was in the non-elite it did not deter me. I started off well in the calm water, but as we got deeper into the estuary it got windier and the current was pulling us the wrong way. I kept going even though it felt like I was going nowhere.”
Despite the windy conditions, Josh’s hard work and determination saw him complete the swim and raise a fantastic sum for Marie Curie.
Josh said: “As I finished I felt a great feeling of achievement and the reward was amazing: a cool t-shirt and a pasty from Rick Stein. As I had never done this before I asked people if they would sponsor me and in total I raised around £1,300. I loved every single minute of the swim and I wish to do it again next year in the elites.”
A remarkable achievement for Josh and a well-deserved pasty! For those wishing to support Josh, you can donate to his fundraising page at the following link: https://bit.ly/2Xd4pHl