THE pupils of St. Patrick's Primary School, in Lochgelly, are currently taking part in a 1,000 Mile Challenge to raise money for a new trim trail. Said Principal Teacher at St Pat's, Fiona Millar: "The pupils and staff are extremely enthusiastic about this venture and are loving counting up the miles as they are walking.

"They have received a very generous donation of £2,500 from the Parent Council and would like to thank everyone who has generously donated so far".

The school's staff say: "Please support St. Patrick’s Primary School pupils who deserve an exciting new trim trail in the front garden as a reward for all of their hard work and commitment during lockdown. Whilst the entire school community is adjusting to our new 'normal', we are keen to support the physical and emotional well-being of our pupils at this challenging time.

"Our children are currently living through a global pandemic. The enormous scale of the crisis and the impact it is having is naturally causing a lot of fear, uncertainty and anxiety within our school community. Our children are living with social isolation and are dealing with major changes to school and family life which, understandably can have an impact on their mental health and wellbeing. "The COVID-19 situation is particularly stressful for our children because it’s hard to predict how things will develop and circumstances are changing rapidly which can leave them feeling powerless.

"We are enthusiastic about raising the funds to provide our pupils with this exciting outdoor learning opportunity because, although the situation we are adapting to might leave us feeling helpless, in reality there are still a lot of things we have power over in our lives, even during these trying times.

"Redirecting our positive energy towards this fundraising campaign will help us deal effectively with the current situation".

"Subsequently the pupils have set themselves the challenge of walking 1,000 miles in a week! Come rain or shine our pupils will be clocking up their steps from Monday October 5 and all donations to show your support to our amazing pupils would be gratefully received!"

To donate to the St Pat's cause go on https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/stpatricksrcpslochgelly?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=20201006_