FAMILIES flocked to Knights Templar School in Watchet for a rather colourful afternoon which raised funds to improve its playground.

The school said it is “lucky to have a passionate and enthusiastic fundraising committee,” the Knights Templar School & Community Association (KTSC), which plans a variety of events throughout the school year - many of which are open to the wider community.

Colour Runs are a popular fund-raiser and are inspired by the Hindu festival of Holi which involves participants running around a course while having coloured powder thrown at them.

After research, the KTSCA felt this would raise some much needed funds to improve the playground at Knights Templar.

A spokesperson for the school said: “We were incredibly lucky to secure donations from Nuttycombe Brewery and Glenmore Bakery which paid for the considerable cost of the powder outright meaning, as we didn’t have any overheads, all of the money raised could go to our cause.”

A group of children at Knights Templar, known as Digital Leaders, worked with teachers over several weeks to design a sponsorship form on Chromebook computers; the children added their own decorations to these forms and one was chosen to be used as the sponsorship form that was sent home to families. 

The committee designed an age-appropriate obstacle course for the children to run, including tyres, cargo nets and a gazebo decorated with coloured streamers and pool noodles which the children had to run through.

On July 19, children arrived at school in white T-shirts and shorts ready for the event. Each class took turns to walk around the course in the morning so they knew what they needed to do in the afternoon.

Lunchtime was busy as many children paid to have a rainbow painted on their face. By the end of lunch, the children were so excited for the event that as they lined up on the playground and began to spontaneously chant ‘Colour Run, Colour Run’.

The school spokesman added: “This was music to the ears of the committee members who were on the field working hard to ensure that everything was perfect. 

“The wonderful Williton Fire Station arrived at school just before the event started to provide an all important pre-run misting.

“The powder used for colour runs sticks better when runners are wet so the fire brigade agreed to aim their hoses into the air and let the water spray the children, committee members and staff members who were running.

“The children’s jubilant cries as the water rained down on them was quite emotional; their exuberance and enjoyment was palpable. The children then ran the course in their classes, with the rest of the school cheering from the sidelines.”

Once the whole school had taken their turn, families were invited onto the field to create a ‘colour bomb’ by throwing small packets of coloured powder over the assembled children.

The event was without a doubt a huge success, raising £4,000 for further developing the school playground and the team has already been asked by many families to plan another Colour Run.