Students prepare for 110 mile bike ride from Cornwall Campus to Exeter for Children in Need

The student cyclists will depart from the Cornwall Campus before 9am and aim to complete their journey in 12 hours, arriving at the Streatham Campus in Exeter during the BBC’s live TV broadcast from the Forum.

A BBC film crew plan to follow the students’ cycling expedition with updates on the journey being broadcast throughout the evening.

The bike ride has been organised by FXU (the Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union) and the University of Exeter Students’ Guild with the support of the Camborne School of Mines’ (CSM) Student Association.

“Our cycle ride will be the finale to a week of fundraising activities at the Cornwall Campus and we will be presenting the BBC with a cheque for the total sum raised,” says Kasia Drinkwater, the FXU’s Vice President – Participation. “During this week, students from the University of Exeter and University College Falmouth will be hosting numerous activities and fundraising events, and we welcome visitors from the local community to come up to the Cornwall Campus and get involved. We are also looking forward to welcoming students from the Streatham Campus in Exeter who will be journeying down to Falmouth to take part in the cycle ride up to Exeter with us.”

“This idea was inspired by the 1,000km charity bike ride that members of the CSM Student Association undertook last summer to raise money for the Help for Heroes charity,” explained Max Sayers, Vice President of the CSM Student Association.

The students’ fundraising activities include: a cake sale; nail art and face painting; a race to place as many pennies in a giant Pudsey Bear drawn in chalk on the ground outside The Stannary; a ‘wear your spots to school’ day; a staff pyjama day and a ‘sponge the students’ union’ event, as well as the rattling of many buckets.

There will also be an interactive Falmouth vs UoE rowing competition, students and staff cycling the distance between Penryn and Exeter on static bikes, a ‘beat the goalie’ event and a lacrosse challenge.

The Students’ Union, FXU, represents University of Exeter and University College Falmouth students at the Cornwall Campus, which is shared and jointly managed by both institutions, as well as Falmouth’s Woodlane Campus. The University of Exeter Students’ Guild represents students from all three of the University of Exeter's campuses.