THE DRIVING force behind a school which teaches the most poorly pupils in the county have pledged their support for the Oxford Mail's OX5 Run.

Staff at Oxfordshire Hospital School, which has its main base at Oxford Children’s Hospital, will be putting up a team for the 2019 race.

The team, so far, has about a dozen runners for the five-mile event which will be staged on Sunday, March 24.

Headteacher Steve Lowe, who has been with the school since September, said he was looking forward to taking on his first OX5 Run.

He said: “I know Blenheim Palace grounds, so I know the course, which is beautiful and it is going to be a great day.

“I have been told some 1,000 people enter to all raise funds for an amazing charity.”

The hospital school team is made up of various staff including teachers and support workers, who work to ensure poorly children being cared for don’t miss out on schooling while they are sick.

It provides a way for children who are admitted and undergoing treatment in hospital to still be able to head off to classrooms and continue school work.

This is at the Oxford Children’s Hospital, at the John Radcliffe, as well as other sites in Oxfordshire and in some cases home schooling.

Mr Lowe added: “We work at the John Radcliffe where we have three classrooms and teach at the bedside as well.

“We know the work the staff do at the children’s hospital is incredible and we want to support that as much as possible.

“All the money raised [in the OX5] is spent sensibly and compassionately to support children and their care, plus their parents.”

The event, sponsored by Allen Associates, raises funds for the Oxford Children’s Hospital Charity and has totted up more than a million pounds in total for the cause.

The charity has used this money to help fund vital support and monitoring equipment at Oxford Children’s Hospital, Horton General Hospital and Paediatric Critical Care unit.

It has also contributed to the building of a 62-bedroom house at the hospital for parents to stay close to their poorly children.

Joe Baker, of Oxford Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “A huge thank you to the staff of Oxfordshire Hospital School for springing into action and taking part in this very special fun run.

“It’s wonderful to see that the care you all have for our young patients exceeds that out of the class room, helping Oxford Children’s Hospital Charity make the hospital as bright, comfortable and filled with fun things to do for our patients and their families.”

If you would like to take part in the OX5 Run go to ox5run.co.uk for more details on how to enter.

It is £17.50 each to enter before February 24.