New Directions Sponsor Headmaster of Archbishop of Rowan Williams Primary School

A massive congratulations to Mr Graham Murphy, headmaster of Archbishop of Rowan Primary School in Monmouthshire for his outstanding and valiant effort in his marathon decathlon, to raise money for his selected charity The Royal Masonic Trust for Boys and Girls. Mr Murphy has set out to complete 26 marathons, within a 12 month time line, and has so far completed 13 of them, all to raise money for this amazing cause.

The grand president of the Royal Masonic Trust is Her Royal Highness The Duke of Kent, and its mission statement states it will help “To relieve poverty & advance the education of families when funds permit; supporting children in need”. The main form of support is to support children who have experienced distress ie where a significant and often tragic event has led to financial hardship. Grants include: mainstream allowances, undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships, computer equipment, musical lessons, educational visits, course fee’s uniform costs etc.

Families with particular low incomes, may also receive Christmas or Summer holiday grants to enable them to spend quality family time together. To qualify for support, a child must have suffered a distress which resulted in;

• The death of one or both parents
• Absence of one or both parents
• Disability of one or both parents
• Financial dispute – i.e unemployment or bankruptcy

The group in Monmouthshire, which Mr Murphy is undertaking this enormous challenge with, in June last year pledged to raise £750k – not only have they reached this target, they have passed it and also have another five months to go! New Directions Education has sponsored Mr Murphy with £100 donated to the Royal Masonic Trust, and we eagerly await the next five months to see how he gets on! An outstanding achievement to have reached a total of 13 marathons already, and we wish him the very best for his remaining 13! The final total of money raised will be announced at an all-expenses paid party in June with guests like Only Boys Aloud supporting the charity, and also taking contributions from Gift Aid. How on Earth Mr Murphy fits in all of his training whilst he has recently been selected  to become the Team Manager for the Welsh Life-guarding Squad for the Commonwealth Games in Australia for 2018, I will never know! Good luck Mr Murphy!