Teaching assistant at Toot Hill School, Bingham, to swim English Channel in aid of The Hub and Raise Your Hands

A classroom assistant is to take on the challenge of a lifetime as part of a charity relay swim of the English Channel in June.

Helen Timmins, of Toot Hill School, Bingham ­— part of the Nova Education Trust ­— will be one of 14 swimmers making the 21-mile journey from Dover to France.

The Channel Belles, aged 30 to 60, are split into three teams for the swim and preparations are already well under way to gain more experience of open water, specifically sea swimming.

Helen is raising money for The Hub at Toot Hill School and Raise Your Hands.

The Hub supports mental health and well-being at Toot Hill. Around 120 students access services through The Hub, which include counsellor sessions, school nurse appointments, mentoring and a drop-in service.

Raise Your Hands supports smaller charities working with young people.

Helen, who has struggled with her own mental health, said: “For the past two years I have been swimming in open water as much as possible. As a single parent of two young children, it’s difficult to fit in training and lockdowns have hindered training because venues have been closed. But with everything back open, it’s full steam ahead.

“My mantra over the past two years has been ‘just keep swimming’. There has been a real surge in uptake of open-water swimming and it has become more widely talked about in terms of the mental health benefits.”

Go to www.donatemyschool.com/toot-hill-school-2518 and www.raiseyourhands.org.uk/campaigns/helen-swims-the-channel