A four-year-old girl from the Rhondda is raising money to help start a Forest School at her primary school in Cwmparc. Polly decided to ride 60 miles during the summer holiday with the aim of raising £60. Her mum has recorded the miles over the last six weeks and, so far, Polly has cycled 93 miles, raising over £1,000.
Before the summer holidays, the primary school asked students to donate old pots or pans as a contribution to the forest school, which is an outdoor education model to allow students to learn about the outdoors and their local surroundings. However, Polly and her mum did not have any spare pots and pans at home to donate; instead, the schoolgirl decided to help fundraise by cycling 60 miles during the six weeks holiday in the hope of raising £60 for the new forest school.
Polly’s mum, Annabelle Dearling, shared how Polly missed her teacher Mrs James while she was out in the forest learning about the outdoors and wanted to help her to set up the new forest school. She said: “Polly absolutely adores Mrs James, who kept going away to learn about the forest ready for the new school and to report back to the class. Polly kept saying ‘I miss Mrs James’ and then when Mrs James informed the students she wouldn't be coming back to class, Polly was devastated. Mrs James asked the students to donate pots and pans but we didn’t have any to give and I decided to think of something to do.
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“Polly is fantastic on the bike and I thought how many miles can a four-year-old do? I said jokingly to Polly that she could do 60 miles in six weeks and she wanted to do it. Every day since has been ecstatic - everywhere we go she wants to ride her bike. Her teachers, Mrs James and Mrs Taylor, also came out during the holiday to support her - having that boost of encouragement was fantastic. I can’t believe how well she’s done.”
Despite being so young, this isn't Polly's first fundraiser but her second. At two years old Polly raised over £1,100 for Alzheimer’s Research UK through lockdown by completing 26 challenges. Annabelle said: "This is what started her love for challenging herself and raising money for a good cause."
Annabelle described the support Polly has received as “absolutely incredible,” especially being able to have an activity to do alongside her school friends over the summer holidays. She said: “We have been absolutely blown away by this school from Polly's first day and the support Polly has received from friends, family and the community is incredibly heartwarming.”
She added: “The forest school will be a part of Parc Primary School in Cwmparc and a great way for the children to see their surroundings - there’s so much to see in the Valleys. I think part of the forest school is to make the children aware of their surroundings and what their community means to them.”
The forest school is at the start of the Bwlch mountain and Mr Williams, the headteacher at Parc Primary School, would like to put Polly's donation towards electricity for the cabin, so that it can keep the children warm through the winter. Polly will start the new school year in September and looks forward to visiting the forest school once it is open. She will be completing her final bike ride for the fundraiser this weekend, with the hope of surpassing over 100 miles. If you would like to donate, please visit here. To get stories from across the Rhondda straight to your inbox, subscribe to our dedicated weekly newsletter here.
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