Teacher blasts her air ambulance fundraising target

A West Norfolk teacher has more than doubled her fundraising target to help the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

Michelle Ryan took part in the recent 10k GEAR run in King’s Lynn and was supported by pupils and colleagues at Clenchwarton Primary School where she has taught for 24 years.

She initially hoped to raise £300 on the online JustGiving sponsorship page but this has been completely smashed, and currently stands at £785 - more than 260 per cent of her self-set target.

A group of young runners from her school, a member of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, also took part in GEAR and completed the mini-event before cheering Mrs Ryan on for her longer run.

The air ambulance was chosen after an incident near the school in 2023 when a life was saved because of the prompt medical action of staff and the arrival of the distinctive helicopter to take the patient to a specialist hospital where they survived.

Although Mrs Ryan had taken part in the GEAR event before, it had been several years and she trained hard for the event, juggling work, family and training to make sure she could complete the course.

Children in her Year 4 class are currently working towards their EAAA Challenge badge and recently raised £134.20 from a cake sale they held at the school.

Mrs Ryan’s fundraising page is still open on the JustGiving website, search her name to find her link.