A talk about Everest Base camp
The new Head of PE, Mr Jamie Vigano, recently spoke to the Year 4 girls about his fundraising trip to Everest base camp back in 2015.
He raised almost £11,000 for a charity close to his heart, Rwanda Aid. Having visited Rwanda twice beforehand to give teacher training and seen how little they had to work with in schools, he wanted to do something to help. The money he raised paid for teaching resources for eight schools.
Mr Vigano described his trip to a captivated and amazed Year 4. The children were fascinated to hear about the flight from Katmandu to Lukla airport, the most dangerous airport in the world. The team almost didn’t make the trip at all, due to three days of high winds and, only after securing a helicopter, were they able to fly there.
Mr Vigano described how the team took 12 days to walk up to base camp, with each leg taking two days to complete so their bodies could acclimatise properly to the altitude.
He described breathing at base camp with 60 percent oxygen, similar to running up 10 flights of stairs holding their nose and only breathing through a straw, which really stunned the children.
They learnt that there was no animal life, very little vegetation, no electricity and less than zero degrees each night. One of the main concerns from the children was being able to see where the toilet was if there was no electricity!
Mr Vigano commented that: “It was a trip of a lifetime and one that I will never forget. I met truly exceptional people and challenged myself beyond what I thought possible.”
About half the children expressed a desire to replicate his visit in the future and share a similar experience.
Mr Peace, Year 4 teacher said: “It was an inspirational story and fantastic for the Prep pupils to learn about other people’s experiences.”
