A teacher at a Suffolk primary school is preparing to take part in a gruelling cycle challenge in attempt to raise funds for a swimming pool in the village he works in.
Jack Freeman, who teaches at Sir Robert Hitcham School in Debenham, will be cycling from Barcelona to the Suffolk village, in an attempt to raise funds for the village’s community swimming pool project.
The project so far has raised in the region of £250,000, but another £170,000 is needed.
Those who have provided grants, which includes £109,000 from Sport England’s ‘Inspired Fund’, require work to start by the end of the year.
The pool, scheduled to be built on the playing fields of the primary school, will be big enough for 30 swimmers and will have its own changing facilities.
The project has been supported by Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Dan Poulter, Suffolk County Council, Mid Suffolk District Council and Debenham Parish Council.
Mr Freeman said: “Two years ago I spent my summer cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
“This year I fancied another challenge so I am flying out to Barcelona and then cycling home to Suffolk; around 1,000 miles and across a mountain range.”
Mr Freeman, who starts the challenge, on August 3, begins with a swim in the 1992 Olympic Swimming Pool, followed by a 75 mile cycle to Berga. He said: “My route begins by passing straight up through the Pyrenees and I am very excited about the prospect of tackling some proper mountains.
“After that I travel up in France in a pretty much straight line, crossing the channel at Caen and arriving in Portsmouth in the middle of the night. The British leg is a bit more leisurely; a short cycle back to my parents in Surrey, then round to Stratford for a dip in the Olympic pool, before setting off to Debenham from there.”
Mr Freeman will be cycling for 12 consecutive days, returning in the village on Friday, August 14.
Visit www.debenham communityswimmingpool.org.uk for more information.
To donate, visit www.crowdfunding.justgiving.com/jack-freeman
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