A Rayleigh teacher is set to tackle the London Marathon in a bid to help poorer students be able to have more opportunities at her school.

Catherine Smollett, 27, a design and technology teacher at Sweyne’s Park School is taking on the 26.2-mile trek around the capital on April 21.

She hopes to raise £500 for the school so it can fund students who wish to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.

Ms Smollett, who decided to get stuck in with the marathon on a spur of the moment decision, hopes she can help end the “heart-breaking” situation of children desperately wanting to take part in extracurricular activities but who are unable to afford it.

The Duke of Edinburgh scheme is an award scheme based around community volunteering which is assessed with a planned hike by students.

Ms Smollett said: “It is heart-breaking to see students whose families are unable to afford the bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh award and the equipment.

“The award scheme can be a bit elitist in that way, people cannot do it even if they want to and it is worth me running the marathon, even if it helps get just one or two students through.

“It is really hard for some students; I’ve had instances of them coming to me and saying that they just cannot do it.

“I’d be trying to get them tents, maps and compasses as well as other camping items that we can keep in the school and provide to other students.

“I am a huge believer in helping students take part in this and I remember in my own experience, when I did the DofE and other extracurricular activities, my family couldn’t go on holiday because of how expensive it was.”

Ms Smollett added that she applied after watching a friend do the marathon and signed up on the spot, having never been a lifelong runner.

“I run from Hutton to Rayleigh and I have family in Basildon, so I run there too,” she said.

“It is a family team effort, my sister brings the car to help pick me up all the time.

“I managed to complete a half-marathon last week and took part in the February Brighton half-marathon, I have been building up for this.”

You can donate to Catherine’s fundraiser at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/catherine-smollett-sweyne-park-school-dofe