Sports-mad pupils and staff at a Cheddar Valley school ran a total of 20 marathons in one morning last week.

There was a carnival atmosphere at Hugh Sexey Middle School when it held its annual marathon on the school playing fields.

The entire school turned out to cheer and encourage 350 youngsters and staff members as they ran a total of 520 miles around a specially-measured track in the school grounds. The runners competed in teams – six from Year 5 and Year 6, four from Year 7, three from Year 8 and the staff team. The teams could be any size, so some were made up of whole classes, taking one lap each, while others were much smaller, with each participant running several miles.

The winning team came from Year 7 and they completed the marathon in an extraordinarily fast time of 2:51.15.

Beth Lem, who organised the marathon, said: "We have had more runners than ever taking part. I am so proud of all the entrants and very grateful as well to all the staff and pupils who have helped with the event."

Tessa Podpadec