A WORLD champion boxer gave a knock-out speech to Wellington School students this morning to gear them up for their annual 10-mile sponsored walk around Altrincham.

Anthony Crolla, the current World Boxing Association lightweight title-holder, offered some motivational words to the Timperley school’s 1,325 pupils before firing the starting pistol on Friday February 26.

Now in its 19th year, the annual sponsored walk is the main fundraising event in the school’s calendar and has raised more than £350,000 since its inception.

This year, the school council voted to walk in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Their choice was inspired by Year 13 student, Laura McDonagh, who was diagnosed with cancer last summer and has received support from the charity.

Speaking at the school this morning, Anthony said: “I have long been a supporter of the tremendous work undertaken by Teenage Cancer Trust and I am delighted to have been here to represent them.

“This has been a truly fantastic event.”

He continued: “To see such an incredible turnout of pupils of all ages doing their bit to raise money for others is genuinely heart-warming, especially considering the bitterly cold conditions. Meeting Laura in particular has been inspirational.”

“I very much enjoyed my visit to Wellington and I look forward to hearing whether the school has managed to achieve their fundraising target for the day.”

The sponsored walk raised £37,500 last year and the school hope to surpass this figure, setting a target of £40,000.

Pupils will find out if they reached this fundraising goal in the coming weeks.

“It has been fabulous to have someone as well-known as Anthony to start this year’s walk and it has really given the pupils a lift,” said Stuart Beeley, headteacher at Wellington School.

“As always, we are hopeful that we will raise at least as much money as last year. We are grateful that we are able to rely on the generosity of our students, their families and the local community to help us hit our target but we are confident we will get there.

"Teenage Cancer Trust is a cause close to our heart at Wellington and we are looking forward to making a significant contribution to their work.”