Students at Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy raised more than £1,600 during a space-themed cycling mission.

Thirty-two students were sponsored to cycle a combined total of 250 miles, or 1,600 laps of the Velodrome at Derby Arena, which is the equivalent distance to the International Space Centre where astronaut Tim Peake has been based.

He retweeted a tweet about the challenge andadded this message of support: “Good luck on your cycling adventure, teamwork and dedication go a long way.”

All of the sponsorship money raised by the students who took part will go towards improving facilities at the academy in Kirk Hallam.

Two Derby companies also supported the event; Clean Slate sponsored one of the cycle sessions and Samways Cycles Ltd provided water bottles for every student.

Lorna Taylor, governor at Saint John Houghton CVA who organised the event, thanked everyone involved.

She said: “Thankyou to Kate Samways at Samways Cycles and Mike Armitage at Clean Slate for attending the event, sponsoring the session helping to make it possible and for giving encouragement to our students.

“As Tim Peake has concluded his mission, students at SJHCVA have concluded their cycle and have raised an incredible amount of money whilst having a great time.

“We’re really proud and grateful to everyone who took part. This is just the start of our mission to improve facilities at school. We’re planning on more events, at the Velodrome and elsewhere to raise the money needed. For upcoming events or to offer support for our projects, please get in touch on Twitter via @PTASJH.”