A Derby Headteacher has promised to walk through the city centre dressed as a chicken if his pupils fulfil a fundraising pledge.
Graham Lobb will walk 3.6 miles from St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy in Alvaston, to St Mary’s Church in Bridge Gate, Derby, on Friday, April 4th and will be accompanied by colleague, Nathalie Woodings, dressed as an egg.
The inspiration for the chicken and egg theme came from the fundraising challenge itself, to raise money to buy super egg-laying chickens for families in Kenya, to help them earn a living.
Pupils at the school are aiming to raise £1,000 which will be donated to CAFOD, an international Catholic aid agency, by completing a series of challenges.
Each class at St John Fisher has been set the target of walking 211 miles – the distance between 9 jubilee churches in the Diocese of Nottingham – plus an extra 200 miles across the whole school to bring the grand total to 1,411 miles – the distance from the school to the Vatican in Rome.
The fundraising is part of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year 2025, themed ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ which aims to foster a sense of hope and community.
Pupil Saoirse, 10, said: “We try to walk when we can during the school day, we do laps of the field. Our year is currently at 166 miles. It’s fun because when we walk we talk about how we can be pilgrims of hope and we talk about our day and we are encouraged to talk to classmates we don’t know. We also have to think about hope and what that means. I think Mr Lobb’s idea to walk through Derby dressed as a chicken is cool and funny and it’s good that we are raising money for CAFOD at the same time.”
Pupil Jan, 11, said: “I can’t wait to see Mr Lobb dressed as a chicken but we have to complete our challenge first.”
Mr Lobb said: “The children have been set the challenge to walk during the school day with their friends, talking about their faith and what they might be giving up for Lent. It’s a virtual pilgrimage and we are tracking the progress of each class on a display board in school. Some classes will enjoy an extra playtime if they complete the challenge and there will also be a non uniform day as a reward.
“It was my idea to dress as a chicken as I thought it would be a bit of fun for the children, they will wave us off if they raise the £1,000 and we’ll send back videos and reports as we walk through Derby. We’ll take a bucket with us and hopefully raise more money on the way. Representatives from CAFOD are going to meet us at St Mary’s Church.”
The school has also set up a Just Giving page St John Fisher Fundraising Page is fundraising for CAFOD
