CHILDREN at a local school have completed a marathon challenge to cover 2,236 miles to Santa’s Lapland home.

There’s just one slight issue – they never got there.

In fact the pupils at Stoke Prior First School could go in any direction and anywhere they pleased during their fundraising efforts.

They just needed to complete 15 miles each – walking, riding or running - to ensure the distance from the school to Santa’s home was completed.

And all the sponsorship money from their efforts is going to the fund for a new playground.

The Lapland challenge, which had to be completed in the four weeks before December 12, was set by the Parent Teacher Association.

This week the school are tallying all the miles and are waiting to see just how much money they raised.

Head teacher Leigh Satchwell said: “This challenge completely captivated the children. They had a shared goal, which is exciting, and their miles were tracked on a candy cane barometer at the front of school so they could see each week how close they were to Lapland.

“It’s been a fantastic way for the children to remain active during lockdown, even in dismal weather.”

Sally Laver, chair of the PTA, said: “There are so many children who walk and ride to school normally, so they’re tracking those miles, but families have been sharing their weekend walks and bike rides on our social media pages and it’s fantastic to see how invested everyone is in reaching this target together.”

The challenge was the brainchild of parent and PTA member Claire Edwards, whose business, Running Beanz, focuses on physical challenges and encouraging people to be active.