Upton pupils enjoy ‘colour run’ to celebrate new school year

Colourful fun at Upton

A cloudburst of colour cascaded onto happy children at Upton Juniors in Broadstairs to celebrate the start of new school year.

The fun event saw 500 girls and boys lap the playing fields on a circuit while happily being showered with a rainbow of vivid coloured powders.

The boisterous blizzard of fun saw pupils from all age groups joined by parents and younger brothers and sisters as air cannons at the start doused them in a kaleidoscope of bright purple, green, yellow, red, blue and much more.

As they walked, jogged, ran and laughed their way round the crazy course the air was dense with colour as special ‘stations’ pumped out more shimmering showers onto the multi-coloured participants.

As they ploughed headlong into the swirling clouds, pupils donned a variety of sunglasses, goggles and masks to wear through the bright onslaught.

Head of School Darci Arthur explained the importance of the event. She said: “The colour run was all about bringing our school community of children, families and staff back together at a vibrant and lively get-together – this was the perfect way to reunite Team Upton.

“It has been a tough 18 months for our children who have been absolutely brilliant in the way they have adapted to the restrictions and challenges imposed by the pandemic.

“It celebrated our togetherness with a splash of colour and positivity. Initiatives like this are a great benefit to our pupils’ general well-being and positive mental health.

“Credit goes to our staff team who worked hard to ensure that all aspects of this great event ran like clockwork as the fun and frolics unfolded.”

Deputy Head Teacher Dave Walker added: “It was a terrific event. The colour run has been postponed in recent years due to the pandemic restrictions which is a shame as it is a popular part of the school calendar, normally held in the last week of the summer term.

“This year we decided to greet our new school year in style with the colour run – we firmly believe school should be about making memories and having fun as well as about learning.”