Autistic teenager Charlie Wray is so pleased with how much his school has helped him, he is running a half marathon to say thanks.
Charlie, 17, from Haverhill, wants to raise more than £2,000 towards a new football pitch for the Doucecroft School in Eight Ash Green, near Colchester.
He is training to take part in the Heroes Half Marathon at Bassingbourn Barracks in Cambridgeshire on June 10. It will be the first time he has run such a long distance, although he has taken part in smaller events.
He said: “I was shown the medal of one of the teaching assistants who had done a half marathon and that made me want to do it.
“The school has had quite a big impact on me, and I want to help out because people need to come and learn to be on their own occasionally and learn to be out in public.
“They also need all the skills you need with family and friends, and also IT skills for when they get a job.
“People also need to know how to control their behaviour. When I first started here I was a right little pest, and through the years I have been getting gradually better with support, and the schools helps people with their behaviour by supporting them.”
Teaching assistant Tom Spence, who inspired Charlie to run the race, said: “Charlie has always been very athletic anyway and we’ve been doing quite a bit of training for it and now he’s very excited about the possibility of raising some money for the school and getting the message out there about what we do at the school.”