Author: Rachel Glynn

We are inviting participation in a cycling fundraising event to raise funds for the expansion of the school facilities, primarily the senior secondary school, for 16- 18-year olds.

WHERE: Bordeaux / Tour de Gironde, France

WHEN: Last week of August. Interest must be expressed by Monday, March 9th, 2026 and we will send you route details to decide and confirm by early April.

FORMAT: Flexible/Self-guided. Choose between 3 or 5 days of cycling

TERRAIN: Mostly traffic-free, well-surfaced cycle routes

PURPOSE: Sponsored activity to raise funds/awareness for Druk Padma Karpo School.

This is not a fixed ‘group’ activity, you may do 3 days, you may choose a longer route taking 5 days, you will be your own guide, you may cycle with others on the same route, or just meet at the end of the day.

Whether you are a seasoned pro or a leisure rider, this is your chance to explore the famous “Tour de Gironde”—a route renowned for its mostly smooth, traffic-free paths and breathtaking scenery.

Would you, your friends, your children or grandchildren be interested in doing this?

Please express your interest in participating and fundraising by emailing rachel@dwls.org by Monday 9th March, 2026 and we will send you details of the proposed routes for you to decide if you want to take part and to confirm by early April.

The Bordeaux region of France is very popular and so you will need to book accommodation and trains in early April. So although you may have many months for your fitness training, we will need to know by Monday 9^th March if you are at all interested in taking part. 

We will then have just a few weeks to confirm participation, the distance/days being done, work out the logistics of which routes are being done, and to then suggest dates, travel and accommodation for you to book.

Health Centre – when the COVID 19 pandemic swept across India it brought attention to the need for the school to have a safe, comfortable and efficient medical facility which could accommodate daily health demands, visiting doctors or dentists, and also provide an isolation unit for our residential students in the event of a local epidemic or a future pandemic. 

With sincere thanks to our donors, the building was completed in 2025. It will be equipped in due course, after its use as a temporary space for other school functions during seismic upgrade work.

Four new classrooms comprising two secondary school classrooms and two IT labs have been completed in 2025. The old classroom building for IT and two classes is being upgraded to accommodate a library large enough to meet the whole schools needs, as well as upper school admin offices, with offices for the Vice-principal and CBSE examination team. These new classrooms have been built to a new design, including a sloping metal roof (instead of a mud roof), because of the increasing rainfall in the region.