Nightline Hike with
Wide Horizons#What will you do today in Geography?
I am writing to inform you of an incredible
achievement by some of our Year 9 and 10 Geography students.
They entered a competition called Nightline
by Wide Horizons, which involved the students walking 30 miles overnight to
raise funds for disadvantaged children to attend outreach programs with the
charity. It would mean children who are economically deprived could attend
trips like our competition win to Wales.
Year 9 team (from the left Emmanuel, Wojciech, Shanelle,
Finlay, Sammy, Lilly, Phoebe, Nosa and Faith).
The
Year 10 team (from the left Amy, Eljay, Taniesha, Joshua, Lateef, Folarin,
Keoin, Kevin, Steve, Mateusz and Hugo).
Walking
from Eltham through Avery Hill Park.
At the weekend we witnessed great team
performances; England football team beating Wales 2-1 and the Rugby team
winning their first ever series in Australia. The weekend was also commendable
by the St Paul’s students in Year 9 and 10 showing the same values of teamwork,
leadership and perseverance to achieve an incredible sporting feat.
Hugo,
Kevin and Nicolae leading from the front at approximately 9pm.
After a brief introduction from the Wide Horizon team, the
students embarked from the start at Eltham and walked at a blistering pace of
3.5 mph. The students travelled through Chislehurst, Sidcup, the volunteering
sites along Foots Cray Meadows (seen above) and to their first stop at Bexley
Cricket Club.
Dusk
along the River Cray.
Resting for approximately 20 minutes to refuel with the
array of different snacks and drinks provided by Wide Horizons we ploughed on
through Bexley Village. The journey suddenly became real for the students when
the light diminished and we entered Hoxton which was the rural fringe to
Dartford. As we approached the halfway mark the students were in excellent
spirits. I was particularly impressed with the front runners (Keion, Lateef and
Eljay) who led the way and maintained our speed of over 3 miles an hour.
Similarly, the students worked hard to support themselves by carrying bags and
providing supporting comments. I was particularly impressed by Finlay, Taniesha
and Emmanuel – to name a few – that had never walked further than 3 miles and
yet we found ourselves enjoying a hot beverage at 1am at the half way mark.
What an achievement!
Having
a break and having a kit kat at the halfway point.
Fields
of poppies at midnight in Eynsford.
At the mid-way point we refuelled on a balanced
diet of Lucozade tablets, sugary hot beverages and chocolate. Although there
were now tired legs the students were determined to tackle the next phase of
our adventure; the hilly North Downs. What made this part of the Nightline hike
such a challenge was the lack of lit and designated pathways, the undulating
terrain and obstacles such as thick mud and rivers to navigate through. Our
pace slowed and we made our way to the 21 mile marker. I must admit that at this
point some of the staff were huffing and puffing.
Farningham
at sun rise at 4.36am in the morning. A well-deserved rest before we reached
the next Wide Horizon's pit stop.
It is without a doubt, a tremendous accolade to
achieve a challenge of this magnitude without training. 20 students reached the
21 mile marker navigating through undulating terrain, rivers and often limited
light, except for the glow sticks directing our route. Amy shows you how learning does not have to be based in the classroom:
At this point the
students had walked from Eltham to Shoreham village Hall. This distance is
portrayed by the selection of the route below. If you would like a full
description of the route please click on the links:
A
selection of the route until the 21 mile base in Shoreham village.
A further 10
students walked with Mr Davis, Mr Eldridge and Ms. Gregory to tackle the hilly
final 9 miles of the route. This included two hills over 200 metres above sea
level and certainly proved a challenge when legs were tired and we were
entering our 10th hour of walking. Nonetheless, the students worked
cohesively and showed the staff why we have some many amazing young people in
our school. The students achieved the unthinkable from the beginning of the
evening the night before and recorded a time of 11.5 hours with rest breaks to
reach 30 miles (50km).
The
end which included a steep hill at Wrotham Hill Park.
40km
out of 50km (24 miles).
Our
position at 8am on Sunday morning.
Joshua
and Amy at 48km.
Congratulations
to all students for their tremendous achievement and I hope they thoroughly
enjoy the Nightline Hike. What is especially commendable is the fact that these
students have raised over £600 (including gift aid) for the charity and proved
yet again that Geography students are a credit to the school and assets to our
department. The students raised this to support disadvantaged students
being able to attend outdoor learning experiences at Wide Horizon Centres.
These students are marginalised from these spaces due to socio-economic status. If you
would like to donate to our students please follow the link below:
http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/SPAGeog
My thanks
to Miss Gregory, Mr Elderidge and PC Verrall for their dedication to this event
outside of curriculum time. Similarly, well done to the Wide Horizons team for
a fantastic and well-organised event. See you next year!
SPA Geog Team.
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