CHESHIRE College – South & West is on a mission to virtually reach the moon during lockdown by running, walking and cycling.

The College has joined forces with AoC (Association of Colleges) Sport in its latest Lunar Challenge to collectively travel 238,855 miles with other member colleges.

As learners and staff continue to work remotely, their wellbeing remains Cheshire College's top priority and the Lunar Challenge has been introduced to support their physical and mental wellbeing throughout this time.

Cheshire College have set up their very own virtual cycling and running/walking clubs through Strava so learners and staff are able to track their miles and contribute to the College's overall total.

This is then monitored by AOC Sport who add the mileage of all the colleges together while also placing them in a national leaderboard.

Gareth Edwards, Assistant Director of Sport at Cheshire College – South & West, said: "I'm really excited for the College to participate in yet another AoC Sport Challenge which have been fantastic in keeping learners and staff active.

"The nature of the challenge means we're all able to virtually come together as a team to achieve the highest total we can collaboratively, while also providing a source for some healthy competition too.

"At Cheshire College – South & West we actively encourage a cross-college culture, promoting health, wellbeing and fitness and I'm really pleased to see so many learners and staff getting involved and clocking up their miles."

Year 2 Level 3 Extended Diploma Sport learner Ellis Hickey, who signed up to the Lunar Challenge, said: "It gives us the opportunity to get outside and take part in physical activity in lockdown which benefits our physical and mental health. While we are unable to take part in group sport or competitions, it also allows us to compete against our class members and tutors on a regular basis."

With Sport courses being one of the College's most practical programmes, tutors and lecturers have successfully adapted lesson plans to meet the needs of learners whilst remote teaching takes place.

Incorporating the Lunar Challenge as part of Level 3 learners' Practical Individual Sport module, tutors have created 5k running plans to provide a structured approach to learners' training.

The Lunar Challenge runs until to Sunday, February 28 when Colleges across the country will wait with bated breath to discover whether they managed to successfully reach for the moon. The AOC's national leaderboard is updated weekly and can be found on their website.

The Lunar Challenge is just one-way learners and staff are keeping together virtually during the lockdown, including the college's latest social media video campaign, 'The Lowdown This Lockdown'.

If you would like to know more about studying at Cheshire College – South & West visit.