Staff bike and hike to raise thousands for Macmillan in memory of Luton school teacher

St Matthew’s Queen Bee Bike and Hike, organised by teachers Daniel Chaplen and Jon Parker, was held in memory of Miss Krstic who sadly lost her battle with cancer last October.

The team from the primary school cycled 105 miles from York University, where Miss Krstic studied, to Barton-le-Clay.

They were then joined by members of staff from the school, and their families to walk 6.5 miles back to school.

Daniel said: “The atmosphere during the walk and at the finish line was buzzing with everyone knowing how hard they had worked as a team to complete this challenge whilst remembering our college and raising money in her name for Macmillan.

“The event was a huge success from start to finish, a target of £5,000 was set at the start of the event that we felt was optimistic, but at last count the current fundraising total raised for Macmillan in Miss Krstic’s honour is £10,952.59, more than we could have ever imagined possible.

“We would like to thank all of the people that took part and supported our event and helped make it as big a success as it was.

“Macmillan has been a very important charity to lots of people within the St Matthew’s community and it has been great to see the support that everyone has shown for them and our fundraising teams.”

On the Friday, pupils took part in fundraising activities in their classes linked to the Queen Bee event, and sent good luck messages to the cyclists to keep them motivated during the challenge.

One lady who took part in the walk from Barton-le-Clay to the school said: “I didn’t personally know the teacher that this was in memory of, I was proud to have been part of something that bought the whole school community as a family in order to raise money for Macmillan.

“My children attend St Matthew’s and they were also proud to support the cause. It was an amazing day where everyone truly wanted to do their best.

“It went really well, we managed to beat our target, the riders did fantastic and even joined in the hike after their ride.”

To help the school reach £11,000 for Macmillan visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/qb-bikeandhike.