A SCHOOLGIRL is jogging the length of a marathon to honour the school that helped her "flourish" in the face of confidence-crippling dyslexia.

Millie-Maye Haggar-Rosewall, 12, is running snippets of the 26.2-mile course throughout June alongside her pet dog.

She set herself the Jogging in June challenge to raise money for The Unicorn School in Abingdon, tackling a few miles a day with mum Ann Haggar and their Border Collie Charlie.

Ms Haggar, who lives off Iffley Road in Oxford, said: "The school has helped her greatly so she wanted to do something to say thank you.

"I am so super proud, especially because it's all come from her. She's just flourished in all manner of ways, she is always thinking about other people."

The Marcham Road school offers specialist education for children aged 6-14 with dyslexia, dyspraxia and similar learning difficulties.

So far the mum and daughter have stomped 15 miles around fields near their home and beauty spots, including Wittenham Clumps.

To avoid getting stitches Millie-Maye keeps her breathing regular by timing it to the tune of We Wish you a Merry Christmas and uses sign language instead of speech to tell her mum if she needs a rest.

Ms Haggar said: "Her speech and language isn't great so that's one of the things she taught herself.

"She has been at the school for two years and she is a totally different child - she was extremely anxious, everything about her showed a very distressed child.

"Now she is happy and confident, she has engaged with learning.

"They understand problems she has and help her to grow tremendously. She is just wonderful. She is beginning to read and write stories."

Millie-Maye's discovery of spell-check on her mum's mobile phone was a breakthrough that meant she could write through text without putting pen to paper.

Ms Haggar said: "She said 'mummy I can make a story now that I have wanted to write for two years'. This big story had been in her head and she had no way of putting it down on paper."

The mum-of-two said she had been "extremely worried" about Millie-Maye having to do her GCSEs at a mainstream school, and breathed a sigh of relief when The Unicorn School announced that it would launch its first ever GCSE programme this September.

She added: "At other schools she was being pressured to keep up with other children but at the Unicorn she is given space to relax. They are fantastic at encouraging her."

Millie-Maye is no stranger to charity sports, having already completed Helen & Douglas House's Rainbow Run and Santa Run last year, and has so far raised £195 through the sponsored jog.

To donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/Ann-Haggar5