HADDON Primary School pupils are starting to understand exactly how far Australian troops had to travel to fight in World War I with their project Run to Gallipoli.
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So far, the school community has tracked 11,350 kilometres of the 14,796km required to travel to Gallipoli in Turkey.
They hope to complete the distance before their centenary of Anzac commemorative service next Friday.
Haddon Primary School principal Mary-anne Moody said the idea came about from pupils who wanted to improve their fitness.
The 10-week project has seen children, their families and teachers documenting laps of the school oval, as well as walks, runs, bike riding or horse riding, which is all tallied for the final figure.
The Woady Yaloak Athletics Club is also contributing kilometres for the primary school’s project.
“When we started, I didn’t know how far we’d get, but now we’re quite confident we’ll get there,” Ms Moody said.
“Every year we do Anzac Day initiatives, but this year the kids are really talking about Anzac Day and Gallipoli.”
She said even the preps were talking about how far away the World War I battlefield was from their homes.
The distance has been measured in a straight line.
The school estimates the pupils would now be at the coast of Oman, before crossing countries possibly including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Syria before entering Turkey.
Grade 3 pupil Deegan has completed 100 laps of the 500-metre school oval circuit, as well as taken part in activities with his family.
Grade 4 pupil Beau is not far behind with 95 laps, and grade 4 pupil Jorja has been helping to co-ordinate the initiative.
