Orchard Manor School pupils raise funds for the RNLI

Last week volunteers from Teignmouth Lifeboat Station Water Safety Team, Fundraising Crew and Boat Crew were thrilled to be invited along to Orchard Manor School to receive a cheque for £800. Students from the school had raised the money through completing a sponsored swim.

Pupils from years 10 and 11 took part in a sponsored swimathon to raise money for the RNLI, a spokesperson for Orchard Manor said, ‘we have a huge variety in swimming abilities, but everyone did their bit and together we managed to just meet our target of 400 lengths in 3 hours - so a massive 10 kilometres. The pupils swam continuously in relay. There were pupils taking part who could not swim 6 months ago, who swam lengths, as well as some very strong swimmers who kept us going by filling in when others were tired. It was a great team effort.’

The event took place at Lady’s Mile Holiday Park, Dawlish, Stephen Brown, General Park Manager said ‘we were delighted to host the pupils from Orchard Manor School, they worked hard to achieve their goal, and it was great to be able to support them in their challenge.’

Volunteer crew member Sean Bromfield attended the school visit and said how it was 'really good to be able to meet the students who raised the funds at Orchard Manor School last week, the pupils were really engaged and had lots of questions about the role of RNLI volunteers. Along with Alan and Shannon from the Water Safety team, we were able to give the children an idea of how the money they raised will be used to save lives at sea.'

The activity was organised by pupils as part of BTEC Level 1 Public Services unit - Contributing to the Community, following a visit from Teignmouth RNLI volunteer Water Safety team at the end of last year.

The RNLI saves lives at sea. But beyond the work we do on our lifeboats and beaches, we’re an active part of the community too. Volunteers from our Water Safety team deliver workshops in educational settings that have been developed to be adaptable for a range of abilities, age groups and audiences.

Shannon Wilson, Water Safety volunteer said ‘It was fantastic to meet the children at Orchard Manor School last year when we were invited to give a Water Safety talk. It was great to hear this then sparked their fundraising ideas and it was wonderful to meet with them again to receive such a generous donation, recognising the hard work the children had undertaken to raise the funds’.

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.