FOOTBALL coaching students and staff at Bridgwater & Taunton College completed a fundraiser to raise money for their residential trip to Bilbao, and for the charity Bloodwise in remembrance of former staff member Luke Buckingham.

The event idea came from students taking part in the trip to Bilbao. The challenge was to travel the total distance of Bridgwater to Bilbao in one day, totalling 711 miles.

Staff and students accumulated these miles by using GPS vests to record the distance travelled by players in a football game on the ATP and by using various cardio machines in the College’s fitness suite.

One student managed to cover a massive 56.3km on the day.

Luke Buckingham’s wife Holly and father Bob Buckingham both came down to support the event and witness the outstanding effort and achievement from all of those taking part.

Mrs Buckingham said: “The staff and students at Bridgwater & Taunton College never cease to amaze me with their efforts to come up with new initiatives to raise funds for this worthy cause.

"It was great to be there on the day to witness the students’ relentless efforts to rack up the miles and hit their fundraising target.

"I was thoroughly impressed with their determination to achieve their goal.”

Student Cameron Weldon, 18, from Minehead said: “It was a thoroughly enjoyable yet tiring day.

"Everyone worked brilliantly over the course of the day, and that showed as we completed ahead of schedule six hours of non-stop football and gym work. It was great to welcome Bob and Holly Buckingham down to college on the day as well.

Jamie Laird Level 3 Course Leader said: “Everyone who took part in the fundraiser did extremely well raising money for their Bilbao residential but also to raise more than £200 for charity which is a fantastic achievement.

"The attitude of all the students throughout the day was outstanding even towards the end when the fatigue was seriously kicking in. A big thank you to Bob and Holly who came down to support all those who took part in the event.”