A TEAM of swimmers from Westholme School, Blackburn, will be hoping to make a big splash when they attempt to become the first school in the North of England to successfully swim the English Channel.

The girls are taking the plunge to raise cash for a new sports and leisure complex which will include a new 25m swimming pool.

And their fund raising efforts have already raised £50,000 towards the project.

The swimmers have prepared themselves for jellyfish, sea weed, water temperatures below 15 degrees centigrade and long hours in the water.

And with the help of Waves water fun centre in Blackburn they are also practising for the swell created by the 600 ships a day that pass through the straits of Dover.

The girls will form two teams of six, a junior and a senior team, and will swim in hour long relays until the 21.5 miles is complete. Principal Lillian Croston said the swimmers were determined to complete the ultimate swimming marathon.