YOUNG friends at a York school have raised nearly £15,000 for charity by swimming 21 miles each to raise funds for a charity to support a friend who has an incurable tumour.

Despite having an initial target of £1,500, the friends from St Olave’s School have so far raised £14,385.78 for Candlelighters, a charity that supports families dealing with children’s cancer.

After his friend Elliott Robinson was found to have an incurable tumour, Year 7 pupil Freddie Brook came up with the idea, and was joined by Year 8 pupil Charlotte Deniz and her brother, Tom, in Year 6.

Elliott’s sister, Clara, who also attends St Olave’s in Year 4, joined the team on two days, helping them to complete the challenge, equivalent in length to that of the English Channel, three days sooner than planned.

Elliott said the swim was ‘an awesome achievement’ for Freddie, Tom and Charlotte.

His mother Mia added: “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of people and the money raised will certainly have a positive impact on many families going through the rigours of cancer treatment for a child or teen in the region.

“Elliott and Freddie have been friends all their lives and Freddie’s idea for the charity swim is such a mature and generous way of channelling his emotions through this difficult time.

“We are so proud of Freddie, Tom and Charlotte and everything they have achieved; they deserve huge congratulations.

“As a whole this has been a huge gesture of love and kindness from Freddie, Tom and Charlotte and their families who have helped to organise the pools and the time to swim, and from those who have followed and sponsored the event.

“We can all take great comfort from this and for that I am very grateful.”

Over nine days in the Christmas break, the children swam 1,344 lengths of the pool at Energise Leisure Centre in York, each completing an average of 2.3 miles per day.

The children are still accepting donations on their Everyday Hero page at: https://give.everydayhero.com/uk/swimming-the-channel-for-elliott

Andy Falconer, head master at St Olave’s School, said: “The whole school community is incredibly proud of Freddie, Charlotte, Tom and Clara. To even think of supporting Elliott in this way demonstrates a tremendous amount of empathy, and to go and do it in little over a week shows remarkable determination and endurance.

“The support they’ve received from the school and the wider community is testament to just how incredible an achievement this is.”