Not the Royal Flotilla at St Mary's, Oscott

intrepid students brave icy waters to rescue ducks

It's not exactly the usual event you get at a seminary. But we have the pictures and the film to prove that it really happened. Fr Philip Caldwell Professor of Dogmatic Theology takes up the story on Oscott College blog:

'In spite of torrential rain on the evening of Friday 15th June most of the Oscott College staff and students went out to see nearly 4,500 yellow ducks race down the river by Bishop Walsh School in Sutton Coldfield. The occasion was the long-awaited Great Charity Duck Race organised by Oscott Action for Justice and Peace to raise money for St Chad’s Sanctuary in Birmingham and for the Thai Children's Trust (this year's chosen College charities). And this was a flotilla to rival the recent Jubilee River Pageant of the Queen – the conditions were crueller (ask any of the students who stood in freezing water to their waist to net ducks at the finish), the sight was more spectacular (true, not a living Canaletto but a vibrant sea of yellow) and the spirits of the spectators higher (half-drowned, you can still hear them cheering and roaring with laughter on the College website link: take a look)!

The race was the culmination of weeks of hard work. Using student contacts right across the country we managed to sell nearly 4,500 tickets each of which represented one of the ducks raced on the night. Though final figures are not in yet we have made well over £10,000 pounds for our two chosen charities. Ultimately, it was knowing this that made us happy but it still must be said that the combination of bad weather, eccentricity and camaraderie did also raise a smile on the wettest of faces...'

On Saturday, Andrew Scadding director of the Thai Children's Trust visited St Mary's and was presented with a cheque for £7,300 for the charity. Andrew commented: "It was so generous. They gave us a wonderful day, it is a real spiritual powerhouse – and the Pugin chapel is blissful."

To see more pictures and the film, go to: http://oscottcollege.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/out-for-a-duck/

For more on the Thai Children's Trust see: www.thaichildrenstrust.org.uk/