Alumna Sophie Hudson (Class of 2020) was our Captain of Boats in the Sixth Form and is pictured below winning the Single Sculls WJ17 at Thames Valley Park in 2019 so she is no stranger to physical endurance!  Now studying Physiotherapy at King’s College, she has been inspired during lockdown to set herself the challenge of cycling the North Coast 500 in 7 days: a 509-mile loop around the coastline of the Scottish highlands dubbed the ‘Route 66’ of Scotland, with over 32,000 ft of elevation, to fundraise for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Sophie will be completing this challenge with a fellow physio student this June – an impressive feat as the pair only took up cycling at the start of the year in the enforced break from other sports due to Covid:

Having found it both physically and mentally challenging, we also have found it incredibly fun and possibly have had way too much laughter along the way. We will be fundraising for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Their aim is to make a better future for seriously ill children. Both being in a NHS-lead degree and having a connection to their work, we can recognise the tremendous job that they do day-in, day-out.

You can follow Sophie’s progress here  and on Instagram. We wish her every success with this extraordinary initiative and hope that she will come and speak to our pupils about the experience at some future date.