The half-term holiday in May means just one thing for teachers at Gordon’s School: no putting up their feet and relaxing but climbing mountains – three of them!

Four members of Gordon’s staff, supported by two staff drivers, are taking on the National Three Peaks Challenge next month, aiming to make an ascent of 3,064 metres, and walking 37km to scale the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours.

They are training hard and giving up part of their holiday to raise money for bursaries at Gordon’s so more children may benefit from a Gordon’s education.

Houseparents Sam and Daisy Cooper, with creative arts director Kat Moore and development director Jemma Moreau, are taking on the challenge, supported by their drivers, head of transport services Edwin Sutton and netball coach Tina Lowe.

They have already passed their target of £1,000 and are hoping for more.

Gordon’s, a state boarding school founded in 1885 as a home for “necessitous boys” and the National Memorial to General Gordon, is now a top performing co-educational senior state school providing day and residential boarding.

The state funds the tuition fees with parents paying for boarding and extended day activities. The bursary programme ensures no family is precluded from applying to Gordon’s for a day or residential place for financial reasons.

There are 60 children on assisted bursary places and those asking for a bursary-assisted place increases every year. Many staff at the West End school already support the bursary scheme through their salaries.

Sam Cooper, also head of boarding, said: “We see bursary children benefiting from being at Gordon’s, where they are nurtured and provided with the stable environment they need to flourish.

“We want more children to benefit, which is why we are embarking on this challenge.”

To donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/, search for “Sam Cooper”.