When I think of childhood it is a lot about running round outside, playing games and getting dirty, I was lucky to have been brought up in a family where being outdoors was part of what we did but for many children in the UK now this could not be further from the truth. In a growing number of areas around the country children are living in overcrowded accommodation with no access to gardens or green space where they can safely play. Home life is limited to being indoors and so their only chance of safe outdoor play time is at school where often facilities and space are limited all this can have a sever impact on the physical and mental well being of any person especially if they are young.

Fairlight Primary and Nursery School caters for many children who live in such circumstances and they want to change the lives of their pupils for the better.

The Big Playground Adventure Appeal is seeking to raise £67,000 to build an amazing outdoor learning area, complete with adventure trail equipment, outdoor classroom facilities and sheltered areas where children can play and learn throughout the school day. The schools vision is that ‘every individual child achieves’ and the new outdoor area will support that vision by:

• improving outdoor provision for disadvantaged children
• improving the physical fitness and mental well being of all children in their school
• improving learning outcomes in particular for disadvantaged children through outdoor learning opportunities

As Charles Hill my co-skipper in the 3 Peaks Yacht Race and I both greatly understand the link between between achievement and outdoor activities we both felt a great affinity towards the Fairlight project and have decided to use our unique race attempt to fund raise for this project.
If you are inspired by our own efforts in chasing down a so-far never attempted endurance challenge then please help give their pupils of Fairlight a chance to feel just some of what so many of us take for granted.