The students of Knockbeg College held their annual tractor run for charity today, continuing a long-standing tradition which has been running for two decades.
Almost twenty students proudly drove their tractors to the school from Carlow town this morning to raise funds for two charities.
The event was held in conjunction with no uniform day, with all monies raised going to SUAS and an IFA fund to help those injured in farm workplace accidents.
“Our young lads were so delighted with it,” school principal Michael Carew said. “Every tractor that came in here was absolutely spotless”.
“We make sure that everyone is insured, not just to protect themselves, but also their families. I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened,” he said.
Mr Carew said the participants are experienced tractor drivers, like so many young people who grow up on a farm. “I was driving a tractor at home since I was 7,” he said.
The idea of the tractor run came about, Mr Carew believes, when some students spoke to a past principal several years back, and it has been part of the annual school calendar for twenty-plus years, now.
He said the exercise was a useful learning experience for the students who had to make arrangements for the event and engage in prior planning.
They assembled at the Talbot Hotel in Carlow at 8am this morning and then drove in convoy for two and a half miles to the school. It was planned that the tractors would arrive well before 8.30 am, when school buses etc drop students off.
The school, which has over 420 students, draws pupils from a large rural area, from Laois and Carlow, as well as Wicklow, Wexford and Kilkenny.
Mr Carew said it was fitting that an event in the school would reflect the agricultural background of the students.
However, others in the school would not be as familiar with rural machinery.
“We have some Spanish students who have never seen a tractor up close, and also some of our students from the town,” he said.
There was some good banter between all the students, Mr Carew confirmed, with photos being taken during an extended lunch break.
John Deere
However, any competition over who had the best tractor was nipped in the bud by the principal who declared a vintage John Deere the best one. He was also surprised to see how popular John Deere has become.
The school will still take any contributions towards the charities. “We would be delighted to take any donations. People can contact us here directly at the school or contact any of the students they know,” Mr Carew said.
Our Charity Tractor Run is underway here at Knockbeg. @kclr96fm #KCLRbreakfast @LaoisNews pic.twitter.com/VLTOIYOUR9
— Knockbeg College (@knockbegcollege) March 24, 2017
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