Charity's champion honoured

AN INSPIRATIONAL Banff Academy PE teacher has been made an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List in recognition of her tireless charity work.

Angela Shearer (28), from Huntly, received the honour for her services to cancer research after helping to make the Peterhead Relay for Life one of the most successful fund-raisers of its kind.

She was first inspired to take part in the event 13 years ago after losing her grandmother to the disease, and in 2005 she became chairwoman of the race committee after years of running it with her family.

She stepped down from the post in 2012, but is still involved with the event, and with her aunt also sadly losing her own battle with the disease last year, she is set to continue her charity work.

She said: "It was a big surprise to get the MBE. I never thought at my age that I would be awarded something like this.

"I wouldn’t have managed it if it had not been for my family and friends."

The Relay for Life in Peterhead raises more than £100,000 each year for Cancer Research UK.

The charity said it was rare for races elsewhere to raise that amount two years in a row, but the Peterhead event surpassed the target for the past five years.

About 350 people take part in the event every year, with teams completing the relay around a 400-metre track over 24 hours.

It starts with a survivors’ lap of honour, with 50 people opening the race with a Candle of Hope ceremony.

Ms Shearer added: "We remember those we have lost, and celebrate everybody who has survived."

Over the years at Banff Academy, she has also been heavily involved with the Jasmine Charity Challenge group, which has raised tens of thousands of pounds for various charities and the school.

Each school year, a group of senior pupils led by Ms Shearer form a fund-raising team and organise a variety of events to collect money.

These have included race nights, coffee mornings, school discos and ceilidhs, dress theme days and sponsored participation in the Garioch Run’s 5k, 10k and half-marathon events.

In 2013, the group raised more than £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust and the school fund.

For the year ahead, the 19-strong group has chosen the Brain Tumour Charity as its cause.

During the 2012 Olympic year, Ms Shearer was among those chosen to carry the Olympic torch on the Aberdeenshire leg of its UK tour, on the strength of her impressive fund-raising record.