LOCAL driving instructors are participating in The Big Learner Relay for Children in Need.
The event will see driving instructors across the country raise funds for BBC Children in Need in a two-week event in November.
Driving from Windsor Great Park to Walton on Thames, the local leg will be led by Eton Driving School instructor Ray Belchamber.
Ray has been preparing students for the relay for the last two weeks, choosing those who are ready to take on a 12-mile drive.
He said: "I like supporting Children in Need, I always have. Children are our future so anything we can do to help them".
A chosen pupil will drive the lead car between the destinations, with a convoy of other participating driving schools.
Now in its ninth year, instructors and pupils will be relaying a Pudsey top box from one driving lesson to another around the country.
On the last day of the relay, which falls on BBC Children in Need, instructors will drive into the grand finale destination to complete a lap of the Goodwood Race Circuit.
Altogether the Pudsey top box will travel over 3,000 with 170 driving lessons and many thousands of instructors and pupils joining the convoy.
Driving instructors have been preparing to take part since June with instructors coming up with ways to raise funds in whichever way works for them, their pupils and their businesses.
Ideas so far include sponsored lessons, fancy dress lessons, PJs for Pudsey and car washes.
Pupils, businesses, and the general public can also ‘sponsor a spot’ allowing them to sign a coloured spot on the instructors’ cars.
Ray says his car is already 'spotted up' and ready for pupils, parents and others to donate to the cause.
Since beginning the annual fundraiser in 2014, the relay has raised over £500,000.
Founder of The Big Learner Relay Louise Walsh said: “I am so looking forward to meeting the hundreds of participating instructors, taking photos, cheering the convoy on, updating the live feeds, communicating with the media and wearing my Big Learner Relay hoodie with pride as we travel around the country.
“This year is even more special as the relay was unable to take place due to the pandemic. We still did our fundraising and brought our community together online but seeing our Big Learner Relay friends face to face is going to be very special.”
For more information on how to get involved visit www.biglearnerrelay.co.uk
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