Lancaster schoolboy gets his skates on to support children in need of extra education after lockdown

Kyden Waite raised thousands for NHS Charities Together after passing his exams with flying colours.The maths whizz chose the charity after undergoing numerous operations to help him see since being born with bilateral congenital cataracts in his eyes.

The 11-year-old would have been left blind without the expertise of the NHS staff at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital.

Kyden, who lives in Galgate with mum Alina and dad Janik, has had eye surgery 12 times and spent much of his first years fighting for his sight.

But after raising £4,500 for the NHS, Kyden has now set his sights on now raising money for a new cause, after hearing how many children are in need of extra support to catch up with their school work.

Janik said: "After the sad passing of Sir Tom Moore Kyden was given a school assignment to think of something he’d like to do 100 times in memory of Sir Tom Moore.

"Kyden decided he wanted to challenge himself to rollerblade 100km around his local area. I asked him if he’d like to do it for a cause, and at that moment the news reported that some less fortunate children could potentially miss out on up to a year of their education, and this could impact their future prospects.

"This could be very challenging for schools, especially those that are already under substantial financial pressure and have been subjected to austerity over the past 10 years.

"Kyden chirped up and said he’d like to do this challenge to support local primary schools to provide catch-up education and resources for less fortunate children.

"Home schooling has been difficult for many families, and some of the children may have experienced life long educational setbacks due to distractions, lack of facilities, equipment or internet access. The government may help, but we can help too."

Kyden will be skating along cycle paths and roads near his home, recording his distance and time using a mobile phone app.

The 100km will take up to a month to complete, depending on the weather.

Kyden is attempting to do between 10km and 15km per session. On flat ground he estimates he can travel around 15-20km an hour, while going downhill it could be up to 50km an hour.

Using his maths skills, Kyden has worked out that at this speed his wheels will be turning more than 3,000 times a minute.

You can support Kyden on his Facebook page here or his JustGiving page here.