CHILDREN enjoyed a visit from soldiers who are running the Great Wall of China to raise money for their school.

On Saturday, ten members of Falcon, an armoured squadron of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, will be running the Great Wall of China Marathon on behalf of Joseph Clarke School and Service for Visually Impaired Pupils in Highams Park.

Major James Senior and six members of the squadron visited the school on April 24 to meet the children they would be running for.

All the money raised by Falcon will go towards buying much-needed access technology equipment for the school including scanners, visualisers, mobility aids and braille technology, all of which is expensive and exceeds the school’s annual budget.

Headteacher Peter Falconbridge said: “The children and the staff had a great time getting to know the Falcon lads and are looking forward to seeing them again once they have completed the marathon and returned home.

“Everyone at school thinks it’s absolutely brilliant what Falcon are doing and we will all be supporting them on Saturday when they do the run.

“It is one of the most difficult marathons in the world to complete, because of the many sections of the Great Wall involving steps up and down.”

Anyone wishing to support Falcon and the school can make a donation at justgiving.com/falconthegreatwall