PUPILS did not let the rain dampen their spirits as they took part in the Bolton School Junior Boys fancy dress fun run.

Proud parents looked on as dinosaurs and superheroes raced alongside the likes of Harry Potter and Mo Salah during the annual charity event on Friday.

Despite the heavy rain, nearly 200 pupils aged seven to 11 paired up and took it in turns to run laps of the school’s track.

Teachers also joined in, with head of the junior school Mrs Susan Faulkner dressing up as Aladdin’s genie and other teachers wearing Ghostbuster costumes.

Pupils and staff ran as many laps of the 200m track as they could until the end of the school day.

The school hopes to raise thousands of pounds for the four charities chosen by the pupils – local mental health charity BAND (Building A New Direction), British Lung Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society and World Wildlife Fund. Elliot Foster, a nine-year-old pupil, said: “We’re not going to let the rain spoil the run today. We will be running as fast as we can to raise money for charity.”

Not only did the fun run raise thousands of pounds for charity through sponsorships collected by the boys, it was also a good chance for them to celebrate the end of their academic year exams.

John Newbould, head of marketing at Bolton School, said: “This is a great chance for the boys to let off a bit of steam after exams. The event is fun but also instructive in that the boys are made to think of others and to consider the ways in which we can make a difference to our community.”

Mrs Faulkner said they hoped to raise £10,000.

The final amount will be announced on the school’s website at boltonschool.org/junior-boys/.