PUPILS at Ballard School embarked on a myriad of charity challenges inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore to celebrate what would have been his 101st birthday.

Children across every age group at the independent New Forest School joined in the fundraising fun, finding a host of ways to complete a 'Captain Tom 100' challenge, with many taking part across the first bank holiday weekend in May.

Their combined efforts smashed their fundraising target and over £800 was raised for The Captain Tom Foundation to support people facing bereavement and champion education and equality.

Challenges included a 100-minute whole-school Zumba dancing class, with pupils taking turns to join in their 'bubbles' to complete 100-continuous minutes, a whole-school coin collection, swimming 100 widths of the school pool, and undertaking 100 acts of kindness.

The youngest children rose to the challenge of finding 100 hidden tennis balls, while the oldest in the senior school completed 100 laps of the athletics track.

Pupils ran, skipped, power-walked, rolled, three-legged raced, did keepie-uppies, and danced their way from one end of the 100m track to the other, completing nearly 1,000 laps.

The theme even extended into lessons, with quizzes on the 100 most commonly used words in French and German.

Headmaster at Ballard School, Andrew McCleave said: "This fundraising challenge, inspired by such a remarkable man, captured our imagination here at Ballard, and I have been so impressed by the ideas, the energy, and the commitment shown by everyone across the School community.

"Thinking of others and keeping active are two of our key values at Ballard. This fantastic fundraiser gave us the opportunity to do both. By working together we build a sense of community and foster in individuals self-confidence and the ability to take on challenges too. For that reason, days like this are a big part of why we are such a happy school.

"I couldn’t be prouder of the children, and we are all hugely proud to celebrate Captain Sir Tom Moore, and hopefully help inspire a new generation of Captain Toms who can go out and make a difference."

The 'Captain Tom 100' is a charity challenge launched by the Captain Tom Foundation, which invited people of all ages to take on a challenge around the number 100 over Captain Tom’s birthday weekend, starting on Friday, April 30 through to Bank Holiday Monday, May 3.