Pete and I shared many things. In September 2013, we both arrived at Brighton College to begin new chapters as teachers there. We quickly found lots of shared experiences and shared loves: moving from London, friends in common, a love of pretty much all sport, a complicated and yet simple connection with faith and church, an appreciation of the magical combination of takeaway and midweek Champions League games.

I count it as one of the greatest privileges of my life to have shared the following years with Pete as a close friend. It's probably possible to chart a clear timeline of early symptoms, mountains of questions, mostly unanswered, until - eventually - the diagnosis we had all dreaded was confirmed: MND. In the moments, there was very little clarity, but from what feels like a fog, a blur of many unbearably difficult moments, several precious things remain: Pete's courage, in the face of an unimaginable diagnosis, with little hope offered for the road ahead; Pete's smile and ability to laugh at my terrible attempts at humour, even in the final weeks; and the remarkable, extraordinary kindness of those connected to the MNDA community, many of whom had walked that same road before, and stood by Pete, by us all, as we faced up to what would lie ahead.

Woven all the way through those months and years were some wonderful threads of colour and life: the chance to get to know Pete's wonderful sister, mum and step-dad; plenty more takeaways and footy evenings; some memorable comedy moments, not least when Chris and I broke Pete out of a brief stint in a care home, the pull of the pub just too strong to resist, even if rules and curfews were broken; doing some sizeable damage to that same care home's door frames and walls as we demonstrated to Pete how not to use his motorised wheelchair, in an attempt to encourage him to use it more.

The Chemistry department at Brighton College was named after Pete back in 2020. His influence and impact live on, far far beyond a simple inscription of his name on the wall. As a school community, we have been shaped by Pete in ways he couldn't believe or readily accept - he modelled the paradoxical power in vulnerability; the underestimated courage of asking for and accepting help; the extraordinary transformation that can occur when you have someone like Pete in your corner, championing you, cheering you on. Those values live on, and the many staff, families and former pupils know that they were privileged indeed to have shared classrooms, labs, minibuses, tutor times and meals with such an extraordinary, special man.

Pete was always so quick to deflect praise and encouragement, even when it was so clearly and so richly deserved. But this row, this challenge is all about him. Those of us who knew him won't ever forget him. And hopefully through the fundraising support for the event, we can help to make a difference to the individuals, the families, the friends of those currently having to face the MND journey - just as Pete made such a difference to our lives.