The Level 3 Outdoor Adventure Academy students from the
college's Kirkley Hall campus completed a challenging charity
expedition to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco raising money for
Education for All, a charity which helps to provide and support
education for girls in remote, rural areas like the Atlas region.
The group raised over £1000 in sponsorship half of which helped
fund the expedition.
Sonia Omar, Fundraising and Communications Coordinator at
Education for All said: "We couldn't do the work without the
generosity of all our supporters, and we are grateful for every
penny of everyone's donation. The amount the group has raised so
far is enough to sponsor a girl for a whole year which is a
fantastic result."
The 11 students organised the trip themselves as part of their
course where they had to plan, prepare and carry out an expedition
as independently as possible. The students' tutors, Chris Scott and
Carl Halliday, who are both experienced mountaineering instructors,
took on the roles of safety officers to oversee the expedition.
Robert Simpson, one of the students who went on the expedition
said: "Reaching the summit of Mount Toubkal was an overwhelming
experience which we'll never forget. Everybody that went on the
trip benefited from learning about the leadership of mountaineering
expeditions abroad, and how to organise them for a group. I've
wanted to lead mountaineering expeditions abroad for a long time,
and the skills I've learnt from Morocco will help me to achieve
this. Taking clients to the summit of Mount Toubkal is something
I'd love to do in the not too distant future, and it's very helpful
that I've now got some background knowledge of the area."
All but one of the students who set out on the expedition
reached the summit of Mount Toubkal, a great effort from
everyone.
As well as gaining experience of real outdoor expeditions, the
Outdoor Adventure Academy students benefit from the facilities at
the Kirkley Hall Outdoor Activity Centre. This includes climbing
wall, high ropes, zip wire, assault course, archery and woodland
activity trail, all of which are available to the public. The
college is currently recruiting for courses starting in September
in expedition leadership and other outdoor adventure industry
related courses.
For more information visit: www.kirkleyhallactivitycentre.co.uk
