STAFF at Birkenhead Sixth Form plan to double their fundraising efforts for a Wirral cancer support centre.

A number of events have helped raise more than £10,000 for Maggie's cancer charity in Clatterbridge over the past year, and plans to try to double that total in 2020.

The money has mainly been raised by staff, but now the fundraising efforts are spreading to the wider college community.

Maggie's offers practical and emotional support to both those suffering from cancer and their families and others affected, and the charity was chosen by the College to be the target for fundraising as a number of staff members have benefitted immensely from their services.

The £10,000 target was met through a variety of events, from sporting tournaments to building chocolate orange towers, and from overcoming fears to completing quite unbelievable physical challenges.

College Art teacher Alan Redfern took it upon himself to run from east to west coast England in July, clocking up 214 miles in just four days, making it a double marathon every 24 hours.

Ambitious to double the sum raised, this year staff are being encouraged to ‘Do Your Impossible’ and challenge themselves to raise aspirations and accomplish something that they would never have believed that they could.

These are set to be both psychological and physical endeavours, from overcoming a crippling fear of snakes to Alan's plans to undertake a triple 'Iron Man' triathlon, swimming 7.2 miles, cycling 336 miles and then running 78.6 miles to finish.

Other activities to raise the first £10,000 for Maggie’s included staff members swimming the Mersey, cycling the Tour of Worcester, conquering an extreme fear of heights by walking over a viaduct in North Wales, and table tennis and badminton tournaments among the staff to get the competitive juices flowing.

Mike Kilbride, principal at Birkenhead Sixth Form College, said: "To be able to contribute to the fantastic work that Maggie’s do is actually a very humbling experience.

"The staff at Birkenhead Sixth Form College have been profoundly moved by the individual stories of such kindness and bravery, and the fact that Maggie’s offers such practical support is what makes it stand out to us as a charity.

"We set our target for the staff body to raise last year, but the College has a whole extended community that we are now inviting to get involved and continue to support such a wonderful cause.

"Our activities over the last year have brought us closer together, through fun and games, but also through shear admiration for what some amongst us have achieved, not least our Art teacher Alan running 214 miles in four days.

"And there's more to come!"