TWO teachers are planning to climb Africa's tallest mountain to raise money for a new heating system at their freezing school.
Pupils and teachers at Farmor's School in Fairford have been battling the cold over the last few years as the school's heating system, which was first introduced in the 1960s, gradually deteriorated.
Students have been known to wear hats, gloves and coats during lessons in the winter months.
Since the old boilers were condemned in October, the academy has been paying thousands of pounds to hire temporary boilers every month.
Headteacher Matthew Evans and assistant headteacher Roger Eckersley are planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in August to raise money for a more efficient heating system.
They have already raised more than £4,000 towards their £10,000 target on their GoFundMe page.
The school's previous bid for government funding towards a new heating system was rejected last year, but the headteacher is hopeful that their new bid will be accepted this spring.
If accepted, the school will have to contribute 12 per cent of the overall cost.
Mr Evans said: "Two boilers have now been condemned and hadn't been working very well for the last couple of years.
"Last winter we didn't have heating in parts of the school for weeks at a time.
"This winter we have a temporary boiler which has helped a bit but the pipes are really old so it doesn't work properly.
"A lot of the students are having to wear coats, hats and gloves during lessons which makes it difficult for them to focus on their work.
"We have to constantly move plug-in heaters around the school which has increased our electricity costs.
"We want to send a signal to young people that we shouldn't be reinvesting in fossil fuels solutions.
"A ground source heat pump would also be less expensive to run and would mean that we could spend more money on our pupils' education.
"Everyone is concerned about it because it is cold and we want to get it sorted.
"Climbing the mountain was an idea we wanted to do before we decided what to raise money for.
"We both like climbing and always like to set an example about setting yourself personal challenges.
"If any local companies would like to sponsor us please get in touch."
To donate visit tinyurl.com/ysus6sv9
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