Beech Hall’s stateside swimming success

Pupils from Beech Hall School in Macclesfield have completed a swim around Manhattan Island.

The school team were the first children to ever take on the USA’s arduous 28.5-mile relay swim. 

The ‘20 Bridges’ swim saw two teams from the Tytherington school travel through a trio of rivers – the East River, Harlem River and Hudson River, which separates Manhattan from the state of New Jersey.

During the demanding course, swimmers passed many famous landmarks including the Empire State Building, Freedom Tower and Brooklyn Bridge. 

The two triumphant teams, a Junior and Senior group, included a trio of pupils from Year 9 to 11 who have twice conquered the English Channel, Beech Hall’s Headmaster James Allen and two parents.

The event followed the school’s recent Channel crossing success, which took the school’s fundraising total to over £105,000 in aid of learning disability charity Mencap. 

Emerging from the 20 Bridges and English Channel swims, the pupils have set their sights on the Catalina Channel – a 20-mile crossing in California – where they hope to be the first of their ages to complete the ‘triple crown of open water swimming’. 

Beech Hall School Headmaster, James Allen commented: “Completing the 20 Bridges swim is a remarkable accomplishment and I am immensely proud of the team. Our pupils have shown exceptional determination and resilience, with an admirable commitment to training when participating in early morning sessions in the school’s outdoor swimming pool and various open water swims across the region.”