Parents and teachers from Twickenham Prep School united for a walking marathon over the weekend (April 22) which saw over £9,000 raised for the Teddington RNLI Lifeboat Station.

Saturday, April 22nd saw a group of 44 teachers and parents walk a full or half marathon to raise vital funds for the charity which relies purely on donations to operate.

One the eve of the London Marathon, part of the group began their 26-mile trek at Tower Bridge to walk along the Thames to Teddington.

In doing so, they passed three of the four RNLI lifeboat stations along the river (Tower, Chiswick and Teddington), some of the busiest in the country. Their efforts had raised £6,800 by the time they reached their destination at Teddington's boat shed for a welcome cup of tea and slice of cake.

Oliver Barrett, Headmaster at Twickenham Prep School said: "I am so proud of this group and of the efforts that they have made for Teddington RNLI Lifeboat station.

"The station has a particular connection with the school as we often welcome members of the water safety team to speak to our pupils. The RNLI is an important charity and does great work on the busiest river in the country."

Headmaster of Twickenham Preparatory School, Oliver Barrett (Credit: RNLI/Paul Roach)

Caroline Churchman, Business Manager at Twickenham Prep School, added: "We wanted to fund raise for a charity that meant something to our school with an activity that our whole staff community could participate in and enjoy. This walk has been a very positive experience for staff and a great way to thank Teddington RNLI for their fantastic work."

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Teddington RNLI is one of four lifeboat stations on the Thames and has a total of around 45 volunteers, including fundraisers, education and water safety teams.

The station's crew have just recorded their busiest year to date with 2022 seeing the team receive 106 callouts, which also led to four lives being saved.

Commenting on the Twickenham school's remarkable fundraising effort, helm at Teddington RNLI, Jon Chapman said: "'What an amazing effort by the Twickenham Prep staff and parents! We simply couldn't do what we do without the wonderful support of our community, and all the money raised by this walk will help our life-saving mission."