A Christmas fundraiser has raised thousands of pounds for a local charity.

While Santa’s reindeer may be long gone for another year, their lasting effects from one event in Windsor will be felt for some time to come, as it was confirmed that the Thames Hospice Reindeer Run which took place last year at St George’s School Windsor Castle raised £8,230 for the charity.

More than 180 children from years three to eight took part in the sponsored cross-country run on Thursday, December 7.

Students were able to choose from three different distances ranging from 2.5km to 5km around Windsor Castle’s Home Park Private.

“It was a tremendous feat,” said Patrick Wright, Director of Sport at St George’s School Windsor Castle. 

“The children put in an incredible amount of effort to raise this incredible sum for a very worthwhile cause.”

The sum raised by St George’s School Windsor Castle made up over a fifth of the total collected through the event overall, with participating schools raising £38,766 in total – enough to fund a nurse at the Hospice for a full year.

Layla Pipe, Senior Community Fundraiser at Thames Hospice said: “The funds raised make a real difference to the care we can offer our patients and their families and enable us to continue to provide our services free of charge to people in the local community.”