A school cycling team from Aspatria has completed a gruelling mountain bike challenge in southern Scotland to raise vital funds for research into brain tumours.

Teachers and pupils from Beacon Hill Community School embarked on the world-class 7stanes mountain bike trails on 2 November 2018 in aid of the Brain Tumour Research charity. The team, which included two teachers, two support crew and six teenage pupils, completed all seven trails in less than 48 hours and has raised more than £1,000 so far.

Adam Young, Head of PE at Beacon Hill Community School, said: “What an amazing achievement by a fantastic bunch of pupils. Hard work and dedication gets results. They’ve worked hard to train for this and they’ve proven what they can do for a great cause.”

Their challenge was inspired by Brian Hoadley, a cycling enthusiast who died in October 2016 from a brain tumour. Following his death, Brian’s partner Penni Dymond donated a generous amount of cycling kit to the School and the team decided to thank her for her generosity by raising money in Brian’s name.

Penni, who lives in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, said: “Brian was a huge cycling enthusiast, a kind and generous man, never happier than when on his bike. His passion for life was infectious, he always saw good in people and brought the best out of them. He’d be delighted to know that this small offer has resulted in a group of children embarking on a huge cycling challenge that hopefully will inspire them to continue out of their comfort zones, push hard, laugh with each other and enjoy every moment along the way.”

Beacon Hill Community School will continue to support Brain Tumour Research in Brian’s name and the school has registered for the charity’s annual fundraising event, Wear A Hat Day. Taking place on Friday 29 March 2019, the event will see individuals, schools and companies don their hats to raise vital funds for the charity.

Andrea Pankiw, community fundraising manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Well done to the team at Beacon Hill Community School for completing their challenge. They have done a wonderful and thoughtful thing in memory of Brian, and we are extremely grateful that they chose to support us.

“Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. With the support of teachers and pupils at Beacon Hill Community School, we are striving to change this.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at Research Centres of Excellence in the UK; it also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is calling for an annual spend of £35m in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

To donate to Beacon Hill Community School, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/adam-young20

To register for Wear A Hat Day 2019, go to: https://www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/wear-a-hat-day

For further information, please contact:
Farel James at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867221 or 07592 502708 or Farel.James@braintumourresearch.org

Notes to Editors

Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK dedicated to raising funds for continuous and sustainable scientific research into brain tumours, and we are a leading voice calling for greater support and action for research into what scientists are calling the last battleground against cancer.

We are building a network of experts in sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence whilst influencing the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more nationally.

We welcome recent funding announcements for research into brain tumours from the UK Government and Cancer Research UK – £65 million pledged over the next five years. However, this potential funding of £13 million a year comes with a catch – money will only be granted to quality research proposals and, due to the historic lack of investment, there may not be enough of these applications that qualify for grants from this pot.

We want research funding parity with breast cancer and leukaemia. We are calling for a £30-35 million investment every year for research into brain tumours in order to fund the basic research groundwork needed to accelerate the translation from laboratory discoveries into clinical trials and fast-track new therapies for this devastating disease.

The Brain Tumour Research charity is a powerful campaigning organisation and represents the voice of the brain tumour community across the UK. We helped establish and provide the ongoing Secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Brain Tumours (APPGBT). We are supporting the crucial APPGBT 2018 Inquiry into the economic and social impacts of brain tumours and will publish their report in the autumn. We are also a key influencer in the development strategy for the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. 

Key statistics on brain tumours:

• Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age
• Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
• Historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours
• In the UK, 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour
• Brain tumours kill more children than leukaemia
• Brain tumours kill more men under 45 than prostate cancer
• Brain tumours kill more women under 35 than breast cancer
• Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers

Please quote Brain Tumour Research as the source when using this information. Additional facts and statistics are available from our website. We can also provide case studies and research expertise for the media.