Wirral husband and wife prove what good team spirit is all about

Nov 18 2009 by Carrie Catterall, Heswall News

SINCE tying the knot at Christmas, two Wallasey School teachers have had a year to remember.

Jo and Robin Dutfield, of Moreton, have between them raised thousands for charity, completed a 4x4 challenge, won a nationwide TV talent competition and scooped a Your Champions 2009 team award.

The couple’s motivation and dedication has been a beacon of light for all to see in Wallasey, especially for their pupils.

Jo, a drama teacher, applied for Sky One’s Grease: The School Musical show last year and her pupils subsequently beat hundreds of other schools and won the show.

She said: “We always put on sell-out musicals at school and are told we should be on the West End, so I thought I might as well apply for the Sky show.

“I never thought we’d get anywhere but the whole experience turned out to be incredible.

“I’ve never done anything like it before and it did take a lot of hard work.

“We worked evenings, weekends and during the summer holiday taking the children to London and organising songs and costumes – it was a lot of pressure.

“It was all worth it though in the end and Robin supported me all the way through.

“I was also so proud of him winning the Your Champions award because he worked equally as hard as me on his own project.”

Robin, a PE teacher, won the Your Champions 2009 team award for leading the Wallasey School 4x4 challenge team at Easter.

The group walked 87 miles through England, canoed 74 miles across Scotland, cycled 168 miles across Wales and ran133 miles across Ireland in order to raise thousands of pounds for Claire House.

It took almost three years of planning and training to get four teams ready for the event which saw 73 people – including staff, pupils, governors, LEA and members of the local community – cover a total distance of 3,552km.

Robin said: “We feel like between us, Jo and I epitomise what Wallasey School is all about.

“We haven’t stopped since we got married but we work really well as a team and support each other however we can.

“It’s been a really amazing year.”