MOBBERLEY Primary School pupils Jack and Bella Sherran are taking on a mountainous challenge during lockdown to support their school’s PTA.

Jack, nine, and his seven-year-old sister Bella, from Knutsford, are bidding to complete the distance involved in reaching the summit of Mount Everest by repeatedly climbing the stairs at their home.

Over four weeks they aim to complete 58,070 steps by climbing their stairs 70 times each day to reach the target of 3,781 flights.

They were hoping to raise £200 for the Friends of Mobberley School, and have already hit their target after only a few days of starting the challenge.

They were inspired to take on the stairs challenge by explorer George Mallory, who was born in Mobberley and took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s.

Their mum Sadie said: “As Jack and Bella are missing sports day due to Covid-19 we wanted to do a sporting challenge to raise money for our school.

“Bella is at high risk as she suffers from bad asthma, and they are both in Mallory house at school, which was named after George Mallory.

“They compete in sports day as part of the Mallory team, and are hoping to raise as much money as they can to support their school PTA.

“The challenge started this week, and they will be documenting with photos and videos as the weeks go on to keep motivated.

“Schools are working hard under immense pressure, and whilst the teachers are supported by the community little is said about the fundraising activities for schools which raise money to support the children's education and wellbeing.

“Events such as balls, fairs, discos and sports days run by school PTAs and groups can raise thousands of pounds each year which support children’s education and welfare outside the normal budgets.

“Due to Covid-19 many of these fundraising activities have been cancelled, which puts more pressure on schools to stretch their budgets at a time when they are already under a lot of pressure to put in additional safety and wellbeing measures.”

If you would like to support the fundraiser click here