A DEVON primary teacher has raised more than £1,000 for his school by completing a gruelling two-way, non-stop overnight swim of Lake Windemere.

Oliver White, 25 ? a former pupil of Tavistock College ? came third in the 21-mile swim, organised by the British Long Distance Swimming Association.

Previously a member of Tavistock Swimming Club and of the West Devon Swim Squad, he now swims for Exmouth Swimming and Life Saving Society and for the East Devon Swim Squad.

The £1,000-plus raised by Oliver in sponsorship from parents, fellow teachers and governors will go towards computer equipment at Kentisbeare Primary School, near Cullompton.

It took him 11 hours and 18 minutes to complete the swim ? 12 minutes faster than predicted.

Twelve swimmers, ranging in age from 23 to 60, took part. The race is staged every two years.

The Windemere event is the longest Oliver has ever taken part in.

To prepare, he swam Lake Coniston earlier this year and has competed in a number of local events at Torbay, Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton.

In all he covered well over 100 miles in training.

Swimming through the night on Windemere was essential.

?It is calmer and there is much less boat traffic about.

?The low point was halfway back down the lake. My body hurt and I didn?t want to do the last seven miles.

?I also bumped in to several fish. It?s horrible. They are interested in the red glow-light that hangs from your trunks. You can just imagine a great big pike swimming next to you!

?The high point was knowing you are going to finish ? especially the last four miles when the sun had just come up.

?Actually finishing is an amazing feeling. You do it for those few seconds when you crawl up the beach at the end.

?And I did crawl!?

Every swimmer in the race had a back-up crew rowing alongside.

?I had a rower, navigator and one to take care of me, making sure I stopped, ate and drank during the race,? said Oliver.

Barry Westaway, from Exeter, chairman of the Exmouth club, was one of the crew.

?At one point I wanted to give up and I would have done if it weren?t for Barry. He told me just to keep going and made me believe I could do it,? said Oliver.

Chris Legge, also a member of the Exmouth club, rowed the boat through the night.

Tom Urro was in charge of food, drink and safety.

?It was tiring for all of us and got very cold during the night. But we kept each other going. I have never seen a man as focused as Barry ? not even Olly,? said Tom.

Tom is also a former pupil of Tavistock College and member of Tavistock Swimming Club.

He is also training as a long-distance swimmer and aims to complete Lake Coniston next summer.

The next major long distance challenge for Oliver ? who is also Devon open water champion ? is likely to be Loch Lomond next year.

After that, perhaps, the English Channel.