Teachers face Mont Blanc ordeal

Nick Whittaker (45) the head teacher of Hilltop and Kelford schools, is teaming up with Kelford teacher Mathew Seamarks (46) to run the Mont Blanc Marathon in France.

They are hoping to raise £5,000 towards the cost of hosting the S Factor final in July.

The pair will join nearly 2,000 runners on June 26 to tackle 26 miles of mountain trails, climbing just over 3,000 metres between Chamonix and Le Brevent in the French Alps.

Young people from the two schools will be put through their paces at this year’s S Factor final, which takes place at Magna on Thursday, July 21.

They have been joined in their training by Kelford colleague Alison Munks (34) who ran the Edinburgh Marathon last month.

Nick said: “Sponsorship is the whole reason we’ve taken on this challenge. The S Factor is such a special event.

“We want it to continue and get better and better each year.”