Since 2007 we have raised over £65,000 that has helped build and fund the ongoing work at the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School in rural Haryana, Northern India.

The usual good vibes, snacks and drinks at the half way point, and of course, Chicken Curry, Chickpea Curry and a few well earned beers at the end to celebrate!

Entry Fee £15 includes snacks & drinks at half way point, food at the end and also a shiny gold medal!

Registration – 10:00 Bandstand, Pump Room Gardens, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AA

Start Time – 10:30

Post Ride Lunch get together – 13:00 onwards at Wheatsheaf Pub, Tachbrook Road, Leamington Spa, CV31 3BE

Join the Facebook Community page  ‘Cyclists for BKIT’ 

Since 2007 we have raised over £65,000 that has helped build and fund the ongoing work at the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School in rural Haryana, Northern India.

The usual good vibes, snacks and drinks at the half way point, and of course, Chicken Curry, Chickpea Curry and a few well earned beers at the end to celebrate!

Entry Fee £15 includes snacks & drinks at half way point, food at the end and also a shiny gold medal!

Registration – 10:00 Bandstand, Pump Room Gardens, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AA

Start Time – 10:30

Post Ride Lunch get together – 13:00 onwards at Wheatsheaf Pub, Tachbrook Road, Leamington Spa, CV31 3BE

Join the Facebook Community page  ‘Cyclists for BKIT’ 

Char said, “After doing very little running in the past I joined the beginners run club at Nuffield in August last year, starting with the “Couch to 5km programme” – running for a minute/walking for a minute etc. I built it up and ran the Leamington Park Run (5km) in mid October.

I have been fundraising for the last 5 years since setting up my hairdressing business (The Vanity Box in Warwick Gates). To date I have raised over £10,000 for a variety of charities. I have trekked the high Atlas Mountains, Morocco and The Grand Canyon, and also hosted 3 charity balls.

This year I decided to take a break from any major fundraising because I wanted to challenge myself in a new way.

But I felt my efforts would be wasted if I didn’t do it for charity as it seemed such a big challenge for me! I chose to support BKIT as a thank you for the support and encouragement I have received from Sangita and Jas Mundy, who are Trustees of the charity. BKIT is a great charity and it seemed particularly apt knowing that Jas is there for three months on a sabbatical working at the Gilly Mundy School and amongst the community whilst I train for the half marathon!

After several months of training I am extremely happy that I succeeded in completing the half marathon in 2 hours and 48 minutes. I did not want to put too much pressure on myself by giving myself a time limit but the buzz from the crowd kept me going. Also running with Sangita, my dad, and many of my friends from run club really made me feel well supported.

I was hoping to raise £500 but have already received nearly £650 and donations are still coming in to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charrunsfar I think my friends and family have been so supportive of this challenge because most of them think I am crazy.

I am going to suggest that the money I raise should be used to set up a girls marching band at the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School and I believe they are already looking into this.”

24 Hours earlier the first ever half marathon was held at the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School. Jas was joined by over 150 runners, including students, teachers & members of the local community. The route took in the villages that the children at Gilly Mundy School come from. Medals and certificates were awarded to everyone who participated. 

Thank to everyone who took part in this year’s cycle ride – we are already looking forward to 2016 which will be our tenth anniversary ride. Funds raised this year will be used to support Arts and Sports projects at the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School.

The annual BKIT charity cycle ride 2015, a sponsored cycle ride to raise funds for the Trust will this year take place on

Sunday 5th July

The ninth annual cycle ride once again follows the 26 mile route that starts and finishes at the Pump Room Gardens in Leamington Spa. The route passes Warwick Castle, Charlecote, Wellesbourne and Chesterton Wood and is paved, fairly flat and suitable for cyclists of all levels.

Registration costs £10 (plus a 90p booking fee), for which all riders will get snacks & drinks at half way point, food at the end and also a shiny gold medal!

To find out how to register online and further details of the route, visit our Cycling for BKIT page.

If you are not a cyclist, you can also register as a Support Volunteer to help out on the day of the event. Support Volunteers help with marshalling at the start, half-way point and end of the ride.

You can also stay in touch through our ‘Cyclists for BKIT’ page on FaceBook

The Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School (GMMCS) has taken another step towards greater environmental sustainability thanks to the installation of solar cells on the school’s roof that was paid for by a generous donation from the UK.

GMMCS has been previously reliant on an oil-powered generator because of the irregularity of the local electricity supply. The Solar Cell system is expected to deliver 90-100 units of electricity per day in summer, and 80 units approx in the winter. During the daytime and evening hours, the batteries provide enough to run the ceiling fans, computers and all other electrical appliances. What has been most noticeable is the lack of noise and smell that was an unfortunate by product of the daily use of the oil generator. The school environs are better for both students and staff.

The savings in annual fuel costs will be channeled back into improving education at the school.
The solar photovoltaic cell system was paid for with a donation from the Alty family in memory of Dr Christopher Alty (the husband of BKIT trustee Janet Alty).

Janet Alty explains the background to the donation by the Alty family:
‘When Christopher Alty (1935 – 1979) married Janet in July 1962 he was just embarking on his doctorate in nuclear engineering at Cambridge University. At the end of those three years, and having gained his PhD, he was appointed Lecturer in Thermodynamics and Fluids in the Engineering Department at the newly established University of Warwick. However he turned his back on research into nuclear fusion as he believed that it would be at least 40 years before delivering any electricity: it seems that even in 2014 it still is 40 years from anticipated delivery.

In 1974 he read about the opening of the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales (http://www.cat.org.uk) and said “We’re going there!” We first visited in 1975 then spent the summer of 1976 at “The Quarry” with our two children James, then 12, and Ali then 10. Christopher returned for a sabbatical term the following year.

In 1977 an Inquiry was held into the then named Windscale Nuclear Power station: the Irish government alleged it was leaking radiation into the Irish Sea. The Technical Director of CAT, Robert Todd, saw this as an opportunity to present the alternatives to nuclear and he and Christopher worked for several weeks editing what became known as ‘An Alternative Energy Strategy for the United Kingdom’, bringing together wind, wave, solar and geothermal experts as well as those looking at the social impact of energy on the population, and the need for conservation of energy. The text was typed by Janet, on a borrowed electric typewriter, before the days of word processing! It remained in print for several editions and was only rewritten as Zero Carbon Britain 30 years later.

In 1978/9 he was instrumental in establishing the first and only undergraduate course in non-nuclear engineering at Warwick University. It was entitled “Engineering Design for Appropriate Technology”, (always known as EDAT) many of whose graduates still populate the world of non-nuclear engineering. His Professor came to his bedside as he lay dying in February 1979 to give him the news that the course had been accepted by the Warwick University Senate.

When Janet started visiting Haryana in 2005 she was amazed by the amount of unharnessed energy coming from the sun. It’s taken a while, but in August 2014 an array of solar cells was erected on the roof of the Gilly Mundy School. The funds for these have been provided by the Alty family in memory of a loving husband and father who had dedicated his life to encouraging the growth of non-nuclear based energy sources’.

Janet Alty October 2014, at GMMCS in Haryana

Already there are low watt lights burning during the evening making the school look really bright and cheerful from the road. The next plan is to put LED lights down the drive and around the school wherever appropriate. It would have been nice to share our solar facility with nearby houses or the community in Lehrian, but to do that would have required an installation twice as big as the one we have. We can only hope that the GMMCS Solar Cell system inspires others to undertake their own solar installation.

For further information on the Solar Cell Project and ways to support the ongoing work of BKIT, please contact via email

A key objective for GMMCS is to encourage and provide opportunities for girls to take part in sport. Dani Black, a national hockey player/coach from Leamington Spa, England was invited to GMMCS in October 2014.

Dani describes her experience at GMMCS in October 2014 ..

‘In October I had the pleasure of being invited to visit the Gilly Mundy Memorial Community School, India for 2 weeks. I arrived with little knowledge of what I would see, what I may experience and who I would meet when I got there. My intention was to teach hockey to girls within the school, something which I do every day in the UK. However, upon arriving I experienced something far beyond that. I was overwhelmed with the kindness, generosity of spirit and happiness within the school. The children at GMMCS were without doubt the happiest and most enthusiastic children I have ever spent time with. A large part of my day coaching hockey in the UK is based around encouraging and enthusing people to enjoy the process of learning to play hockey. The children at GMMCS needed absolutely no encouragement and in fact, surprisingly, they were the ones who encouraged and inspired me!
From day one, every child who I had contact with was keen to learn whatever I was teaching – despite the language barrier! The pupils were taught the basic skills and concepts of the game and they then learned to develop these into game situations. By the end of the 2 weeks all of the pupils who attended the hockey practices were able to play the game competently. They began to learn the rules and even tactics of the game. My aim was to leave the pupils with a basic knowledge of the requirements of the game and a desire to continue playing when I was no longer there to teach. I have been delighted to hear that the girls are continuing to be taught hockey, thanks to Mr Hari Kesh. My visit to GMMCS was a life changing one for me and I will certainly return to visit the school in the future with hope of seeing hockey develop and the positive spirit of the pupils still alive.’

As part of his 50th birthday celebrations in July 2014, James Alty challenged himself to ride his single speed bike from one end of the UK to the other travelling south to north raising money for the Buwan Kothi International Trust.

The ride starts on Thursday 18th September and planned finish is Wednesday 1st October.

A total of 1,014 miles (1,631 Km) at an average of 72 miles (115 Km) per day.

To follow James’s progress visit his blog Link.

Currently GMMCS has 591 children up to year 10, with 23% receiving subsidised education through Dr James Partridge Assisted Places Scheme. The school is on target to become one of the few schools in the state to meet requirements under India’s Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, which requires schools to provide 25% free spaces for elementary education to socially and economically disadvantaged children.

Other positive developments include a new project by the sports teacher, Hari Shen, who is offering evening sessions for children from local villages who are not necessarily attending the school. The school is also gathering estimates for solar panels that will make the school self-sufficient in energy – currently irregular electricity supply means significant and rising costs to run a generator. A possible plan that is being explored is for surplus energy produced by the panels to power street lighting in the local village – another first for the state. As long as we can raise the funds, we are hoping to put this fantastic opportunity in place before the end of year.