A GROUP of parents are making their final preparations before attempting to swim the English Channel to raise money for their children’s primary school.

The team of Jenny Search, Jacki Patrickson, Libby Unsworth and Michael Sykes, who all have children at the same primary school in Durham City, will be taking on cold water, jellyfish and waves to complete the 21-mile swim.

They are fundraising for a new all-weather sports pitch at Neville’s Cross Primary School.

The team, which has named itself the Neville’s Cross Battlers after a vote among children at the school, has been in training for more than a year.

Ms Patrickson said: “This will be the biggest challenge that I have ever faced, but, as life-long swimmer, it has always been on my bucket list. I really wanted to thank the school for all that they have done for my children and this seemed like a great way of providing much better facilities for our children as well as fulfilling a dream.”

Ms Unsworth added: “We decided we should go for something really big and something the children could get involved with. It’s been fantastic.

“I think we’re ready now, we just need to get on with it.”

Their swim is expected to take around 16 hours and is scheduled to start sometime next week, depending on the weather.

Mr Sykes said: “The physical challenge is quite daunting. But also the jelly fish, huge tankers and waves. At the moment the waves are getting bigger towards the end of the week so we hope to get out there early.”

Pupils have also been fundraising and have been doing a series of challenges based on the 21 miles across the channel.

They have also been learning about the dangers of open water swimming with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution [RNLI].

Mr Sykes said: “The school has been fantastic and they have really gone with it.

“For me, it’s all about the importance of physical activity. One of the challenges at the minute is that the playing field is out of use for large parts of the year. Some of the kids can’t play football in the yard because there’s not enough space so having the pitch is really important.”

Headteacher Pam Monaghan said: “This amazing challenge has really grabbed the children’s imagination. They are wearing Battlers badges, wristbands and talking about challenges that they, or their parents, could undertake.”

So far the school has raised about £14,000 of the £60,000 it needs for the new play area.

To sponsor the swimmers visit www.givey.com/nxccsmuga or contact the school.