Twenty-one students from Barrow Sixth Form College completed a marathon of sports for Granada TV’s telethon in 1990.

Starting at 9am one morning, they played their way through various sports for 27 hours, finishing at noon the following day.

Jason Kelly, who organised and took part in the event, said: “We got to hear of Granada TV’s charity five-a-side soccer competition through the Evening Mail and used this as part of our telethon effort.”

The Mail:

The total raised so far when the newspaper visited the college was £1,100, with main sponsors being local firms and businesses.

The students organised themselves into three teams, giving one team a chance to rest while the other two competed.

“We took breaks of around two and a half hours to sleep or eat,” said Jason.

The six sports involved were soccer, table tennis, basketball, hockey, volleyball and badminton.

The lads thanked all the sponsors and especially Furness General Hospital physiotherapists Mrs Kitchen and Morag for their help.

The Mail:

Enterprising students at Barrow Sixth Form College students set up their own radio station in 1994 to broadcast to students during their lunch hour.

Ten students decided to start up the business as part of the young Enterprise Scheme.

Radio 1001 Hertz broadcast from 11am to 2pm every day in the social area of the college.

The youngsters had approached local companies and shops to advertise on the station and bought their equipment with investments by the owner of the college coffee bar and the student council.

The Mail:

Students involved in the station had brought their own records in and, as they made more money, hoped to invest in more recent records, tapes and compact discs.

Clifford Mann, 17, financial director, said: “We heard about the scheme and thought about a radio station.”

The station would close when the project ended and any profits would be divided among the shareholders.