A team of 60 pupils and parents conquer Snowdon

The team was made up of parents and Year Five students from the school who were raising money for Momentum Children’s Charity, and for the school’s Parent Staff Association (PSA).

The school’s chosen charity, Momentum, was nominated by Alba Fransson, a parent from the school, whose family received support from the charity when her youngest son, Jack, was diagnosed with cancer in 2021 at just two years old. Throughout his treatment and recovery, Momentum provided invaluable support to the family.

Alba took on the Snowdon challenge alongside her 10-year-old son, Liam. Her 12-year-old daughter, Marina, had also completed the challenge two years earlier when she was a pupil at the school.

The Snowdon Summit Challenge saw the team climb to the summit of Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales at 1,085 metres (3,560 feet). The demanding nine-mile trek involved a significant ascent and descent, meaning it took around 8 hours to complete. On reaching the summit, the pupils and their parents were rewarded with spectacular views across Snowdonia National Park.

Talking about the challenge, Alba Fransson, from Richmond, said: “It was an amazing weekend – I feel so proud of my son Liam and all his school friends. We all felt a real sense of achievement when we reached the summit – we all collectively shouted ‘Momentum’ when we got there. It was a hot day with temperatures of more than 30 degrees, and the terrain was very uneven and stoney, which definitely made it more challenging. It was an emotional weekend with everyone proudly wearing their Momentum green t-shirts. Lots of people would stop us and ask why we were doing it and who Momentum was, so it meant a lot to be able to raise awareness of this wonderful charity.

Alba continued: “We called the children ‘mountain goats’ as they just seemed to trot down – it was much tougher for the adults! Everyone received a medal at the end and went home knowing a lot more about Momentum. We celebrated by watching England win their quarter-final World Cup match.”

Talking about why they are fundraising for Momentum, Alba said: “We found out about Momentum when we were in Kingston Hospital with Jack. We met a Family Support Worker from the charity who was welcoming and understanding, and even though initially we felt we didn’t need them, they helped in so many ways. From a secret cupboard full of goodies in each hospital, to trips to their respite cabins next to the seaside, visits from Santa, outings on their riverboat, and unexpected but needed chats over a cup of tea – they were brilliant. Slowly we realised that they were helping other families in the local area too and that we were all connected by their warm embrace. Sadly, there are many families nearby living with children with cancer and serious illnesses. All of them need that warmth that Momentum can bring, to make them remember that they are still a family that can share smiles and happiness in these difficult times.”

Momentum Children’s Charity supports families across London, Surrey, and Sussex whose children are facing cancer or a life-challenging condition. The charity partners with local hospitals to offer personally tailored support to the entire family through their family support workers, both in hospital and at home.

If you are inspired by the team from Marshgate Primary School, you can sponsor them here: Fundraiser – Marshgate primary school Snowdon expedition 2026

To find out more about the work of Momentum Children’s Charity, please visit www.momentumcharity.org

Notes to Editors:

Momentum Children’s Charity supports families across London, Surrey and Sussex whose children are facing cancer or a life-challenging condition. We partner with local hospitals to offer personally tailored support to care for the emotional and mental wellbeing of every single family member, through our family support workers. Our services include counselling, creative therapies, special experiences, and respite breaks. If the unthinkable happens, and a child dies, we offer specialist bereavement support through our Momentum Echoes service. The charity receives no government funding and is reliant entirely on voluntary support. 

Founded in 2004, Momentum Children’s Charity was started when Bianca Effemey OBE was working as a receptionist on the Paediatrics Ward at Kingston Hospital. Side effects of chemotherapy treatment can be very painful, and she became aware of the impact they were having on young cancer patients. It became her mission to get white goods donated to the hospital which could be kept full of refreshments, providing some relief to children suffering with mouth ulcers caused by chemotherapy. Momentum has grown from a very small charity to now supporting over 2,800 individuals across 726 families in 2025/26. This includes 506 families with children in active treatment and 220 bereaved families.

If you are interested in learning more about the work Momentum does, seeing the roles they are currently recruiting for or would like to get involved by attending an event, volunteering or making a donation please visit www.momentumcharity.org

www.momentumcharity.org Registered charity number: 1195373 For more information about Momentum and future press opportunities, please contact:  Claire Smith, PR and Communications Officer: clairesmith@momentumcharity.org  /  0208 974 5931