the times | Saturday January 1 2022 2GM 37
News
ANDREW MCCAREN FOR THE TIMESEventually, the icy rain pelting the
mountain turns to snow. Then it turns to
hail. And then it turns back to snow
again. Splashing through another freez-
ing puddle, I reflect that I am unable to
work out which I prefer to be pelted by.
Probably the snow, which at least has the
benefit of being picturesque.
This is what you get for climbing
mountains in the Lake District in
December. I have not launched myself
into the wilderness alone on a foolhardy
solo mission. I am in the company of
about 20 children aged about 11 and 12.
Those Times readers who like to make
comments about my youthful looking
byline picture in the online comments
will doubtless let me know they’re glad
I’ve made some friends my own age.
In fact, the intrepid children are stu-
dents at Walsall Academy, a secondary
school in Bloxwich in the West Mid-
lands, which is one of the most deprived
parts of the country. They’re on the side
of the mountain thanks to Outward
Bound, a charity supported by this
year’s Times and Sunday Times Christ-
mas appeal. The charity provides subsi-
dies to schools to take thousands of
children from disadvantaged back-
grounds into the wilderness to help
build qualities such as resilience, team-
work and social ability — the kinds of
unquantifiable, non-academic “soft”
skills that often turn out to be as crucial
to success in life as good grades.
Jon Clarke, the school’s deputy head,
tells me that lockdown has been disas-
trous for children from tough back-
grounds. Often with no internet access,
many have become isolated, unable to
talk or play with anyone their own age.
Outward Bound changes that. Kay-
aking, rock climbing and scaling moun-
tains means talking through problems
and cheering each other on. In the
evening they have dinner together
round a table, play card games and, as
they rather blearily acknowledge, talk
all night in their tents.
One of the instructors tells me there
are stories about these children that
would break my heart. I believe it. It’s all
the more to their credit that they’re
such a charming and kind bunch.
They also have their share of eccen-
trics. One cherubic child turns out to be
an authority on zombies and the vari-
ous terrible things they will do to you in
order to get at your brains. Another boy,
Ewan, is rather more on my cultural
level. He says he spent the previous
evening reading, which is just what I
would be doing on a trip like this, and he
recommends me a book about killer
aliens I will be sure to read.
Most are philosophical about the ter-
rible weather but by the time we make it
to the top of Seat Sandal, a hill near Ull-
swater, the wind is so fierce I keep ex-
pecting it to carry one of our party away
like a small, mournful balloon. I can feel
our resilience building by the second.
None of them have been camping
before and are adapting slowly to life
under canvas in the middle of Decem-
ber. Ronette observes that it “was rub-
bish” that it rained so much last night,
which makes me feel rather smug about
my B&B at the bottom of the mountain.
We’re relieved to make it back to
camp, where Clarke and the Outward
Bound instructors make cocoa. The
children, slightly dazed from the ele-
ments, sit around chatting, singing and
playing cards. It’s lovely. And not hard
to imagine, as Clarke tells me, that
many of them will remember expedi-
tions like this for the rest of their lives.
The lessons they’re taking away from
the trip are practical. Ronette tells me
ruefully that the moral of camping is “be
prepared next time”. And Ewan, with the
world-weary tone of a man speaking
from bitter experience, tells me: “I’ve
learnt that if you don’t put your sleeping
mat down you will get wet.”
Clarke explains that the benefits are
much broader and longer-lasting. At-
tendance rises and lateness falls as soon
as children return from an Outward
Bound trip.
Outward Bound trips are important
even to children stuck at home during
lockdown. Clarke makes a film of every
trip and during lockdown he got into
the habit of watching one of them back
and “picking a random child and phon-
ing them at home”, where things were
invariably tough. “I’d start to talk about
things like ‘remember when we’re on
that hill’. And as soon as they started
reminiscing, the kids would cheer up.”
The relationships the children make
on these trips — with each other and
their teachers — “will last for ever”.
Clarke says: “We’ve had kids who have
gone on to do amazing things: Oxford,
Cambridge, marines, medicine.” When
they come back to school they’ll say
things like “do you remember when we
were on those hills” or “do you remem-
ber when we were in the rain and sing-
ing stupid songs”.
If some of these children do —
against all the odds, and in competition
with much wealthier, luckier rivals —
make it to good jobs or top universitiesChildren explore the Lake District fell Seat Sandal thanks to Outward Bound. It
may have been windy and wet at the bottom but at the summit it was worseTo donate
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Zombies, cocoa and a
mountain full of hope
or even careers, it will surely be partly
thanks to Outward Bound.
Donations to Outward Bound will be
doubled up to £480,000 via £300,000
from Barratt Developments and the
Barratt Foundation and £180,000 from
anonymous donors.
Our Christmas appeal is in great
shape, leading article, page 27James Marriott
christmas
appeal
Times readers respond
More than £2.1 million has been
pledged to the Times and Sunday
Times Christmas Appeal so far.
Readers have pledged £393,000 in
donations and gift aid to the
Refugee Councils of Britain,
£233,000 to Outward Bound and
£181,000 to the Wildfowl & Wetlands
Trust (WWT). With extra donations
and match-funding offers from
philanthropists, this takes the total
pledged to £734,000 for the
Refugee Councils, £1.03 million for
Outward Bound and £333,000 for
the WWT.