Andrew Wood took to the highways and byways of England on Easter Sunday to raise money for the Beachy Head Chaplaincy Trust (BHCT). Andrew cycled from 8am to 5.30pm for three days, travelling down through Staffordshire, Shropshire, the Midlands, Worcestershire, the Cotswolds, Berkshire and Hampshire, before arriving back at school to a rapturous reception from his pupils on the following Tuesday evening.

BHCT volunteers patrol Beachy Head on foot and by car and respond to emergency calls, to locate people at risk of suicide. They are trained in crisis intervention and offer supportive listening, to start a dialogue and to encourage more hopeful solutions.

Andrew, a keen cyclist, said: ‘the idea to do this ride came to me when I was looking through the school archives and learning about how the girls at the school were evacuated up to the Ferry Hotel in Lake Windermere for the entirety of WWII. The current pupils learn about this period in history, of course, and the archives are a valuable resource for them. I thought it would be great to retrace that journey.” He added: “I chose this charity because I often ride on Beachy Head and see the Chaplaincy Trust volunteers, who are out in all weathers looking out for people who may be suffering mental health issues. As a teacher, I am very keen to keep the conversation about mental health going at school.”

“I have never cycled this far before – the most I have done is around 100km – so I was actually pretty nervous on Saturday night before the ride started on Sunday. But when I got going on Sunday, through what was just beautiful scenery, lambs gambolling past me as I crossed over pretty stone bridges, and past miles and miles of fields, I have never felt better. I stopped for 20-minute rests three times each day but as the days went on I seemed to get more energised. I guess it must have been the adrenalin!” As people he encountered along the way heard about his journey, they made donations to the charity. He added: “The chef at the hotel I was at one night heard what I was doing and handed me a tenner! And a B&B owner I met did the same. People were really encouraging all the way along!”

BHCT chief executive Gail Whitington said: “It must have been a gruelling journey for Andrew cycling such incredible distances and we are delighted that he chose to support us and our work. We would like to thank Roedean Moira House parents and pupils for their pledges. What an amazing achievement.”

To donate, please go to Virgin Money Giving homepage and search Andrew Wood.