THE PTA at Ilkley Grammar School held Wharfedale’s first ever fundraising Colour Rush fun-run on the Grammar School playing fields on Sunday, June 26th.

After being cancelled in 2021 and two years in the planning it promised to be this summer’s most colourful day and it didn’t disappoint, raising a whopping £3777.

A PTA spokesperson said: "A fabulous balloon arch created especially for us by Balloon World of Addingham greeted the 325 participants aged from five to 75 years. After a huge campaign to raise sponsorship to put the event on, participants received a pristine white “Just add colour” T-shirt sponsored by Dacre, Son and Hartley and a free drawstring sports bag sponsored by Pure Pilates, Ilkley and by the end of the event no-one was untouched by the brightly coloured powder paint.

"Huge thanks to our other generous sponsors including Sarah Siddons Financial Planning, Ison Harrison Solicitors, Yorkshire Hot Tubs, Ilkley Taxi’s, Somfy Ltd and United Education who enabled us to off-set the financial costs of the special powder paint. A huge thanks also to Rombalds Radio for keeping our races to time and everyone entertained with fabulous music and chat. The wonderfully energetic Emma Draper got everyone going with a fun Zumba warm-up before each race. Addingham Scouts kept hungry tummies filled with bacon butties, hotdogs and burgers throughout the day. Rossi’s ices and Team of the Bean kept everyone topped up with barista coffee and marvellous ice cream and slush creations. We couldn’t have done it without the support of Ilkley Grammar School staff and parents who volunteered throughout the weekend to help create a fantastic event for families, friends, work colleagues and children of all ages.

"The money raised will continue to help achieve the school’s ambitious targets for access to Mental Health First Aid training and ensure that there is support throughout the school for anyone experiencing mental health issues. By the end of this academic year, Ilkley Grammar School will have one in three members of staff trained with the Mental Health First Aid. It will also enable 60-70 post-16 student leaders to train in the MHFA qualification in the next academic year.

"The Creative Arts department will also be benefitting from the Ilkley Colour Rush funds with exciting projects to enhance creative arts provision in school, starting with new specialised lighting in the main theatre space.

"We’ve already started planning the Ilkley Colour Rush for 2023, look out for updates about sponsorship, getting involved and joining us in next year’s even brighter rush of colour!"