‘Ain’t no mountain high enough for The Springfields Academy

Mon, Sep 09, 2013 11:53 CET

The SEN award-winning specialist school for children with complex social and learning difficulties, The Springfields Academy, based in Wiltshire, are preparing for their hardest challenge to date: The Highest Classroom on Earth. Celebrity mentors such as retired England Rugby Captain, Lewis Moody and Rachael Mackenzie, former world Thai boxing champion will take ten children from around the United Kingdom who have complex learning difficulties and challenging behaviour, on the climb to Everest Base Camp at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall on Monday 7 October 2013.

This will be the third challenge of the Extreme Classrooms series. The students will embark on a fifteen day excursion to the Himalayas, trekking to the Mount Everest Base Camp at 17,600 feet and onward to the Kala Patthar summit at 18,200 feet. This life-changing expedition will test them to their physical and emotional limits.

The successful eleven students who are making the climb are:

Aaron Barber from The Kingfisher School, Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Jack Edgell from Coln House School, Fairford, Gloucestershire
Ryan House from the New Horizons Learning Centre, Kingswood, South Gloucestershire
Josh Kitchen from Notton House School, Lacock, Wiltshire
Cole Nother from the Muntham House School, Horsham, West Sussex
Dominic Price-Santos from the Newbridge Learning Community, Wigan, Greater Manchester
Joshua Simpson from The William Henry Smith School, Brighouse, West Yorkshire
Brandon Tanner from Penkford School, St Helens, Merseyside
Bradley Walters from The Springfields Academy, Calne, Wiltshire
George Yeoman from The Springfields Academy, Calne, Wiltshire
Richard Lang, The Springfields Academy, Calne, Wiltshire

The Extreme Classroom has attracted top quality support from inspirational mentors. The dedication and inspiration of the tutors has drawn support from key achievers in society who are engaged in mentoring and supporting the students through the challenges of the expeditions and all of the supporting activities.

In 2013 mentors will include:

Lewis Moody MBE, 2011 retired England Rugby Captain and British Lions Legend
Thinus Delport, South African retired rugby union player
Alan Chambers MBE, leader of Britain’s first unassisted expedition to the North Pole from Canada
Rachael Mackenzie, former world Thai boxing champion
Jeremy Gane,orchestrator of Comic Relief projects fund raising expeditions
Jeremy Newton, Swindon Town Academy Manager

The Extreme Classroom, a programme supporting the core curriculum, has been developed. This is a series of ground-breaking challenges designed by The Springfields Academy Principal, Trystan Williams, and Alan Chambers MBE, a former Royal Marine Commando renowned for expeditions in the Polar Regions. Driven by the belief that people excel when pushed beyond the limits of expectation, the Extreme Classrooms enable pupils to develop self-belief, overcome adversity and prove a point to themselves and others who may have written them off.

The emotional support provided by such capable individuals has allowed the students to learn from the dedication and application necessary to reach the top in any given profession. The sportsmen and women who have given their time have been able to spur the students on to achieve physical results and emotional satisfaction far beyond their expectations. New limits have been established and new ways of dealing with life have been set.

The 15 day trek will comprise of the following itinerary:

Day 0 Depart London Heathrow on overnight flight to Kathmandu

Day 01 Arrive Kathmandu, meet our staff and transfer to Hotel

Day 02 Half day guided sightseeing tour in Kathmandu. O/N Hotel

Day 03 Fly to Lukla (2,900m). Trek to Phakding, 3-4 hours

Day 04 To Namche Bazaar (3,450m), 5-6 hours

Day 05 Sightseeing in Namche Bazaar

Day 06 Trek to Tyangboche (3,864m), 4-5 hours

Day 07 Trek to Pheriche (4,252m), 4-5 hours

Day 08 Acclimatisation day in Pheriche

Day 09 Trek to Lobuche (4,900m)

Day 10 Gorak Shep (5,410m) and Kala Pattar (5,550m)

Day 11 Trek to Everest Base Camp (5,346m), 4-5 hours

Day 12 Descend to Pangboche (3,985 m), 6-7 hours

Day 13 Trek to Namche Bazaar (3,440m), 6-7 hours

Day 14 Trek to Lukla (2,840m), 6-7 hours

Day 15 Fly to Kathmandu (1,350m)

Day 16 International flight home

The Highest Classroom, part of others from “The Extreme Classroom” concept, is the subject of a series of BBC documentaries. With over several hundred children from more than 200 schools having applied to The Hottest Classroom project, in the African Rift Valley in Tanzania in 2012, the competition was even tougher for the opportunity to climb the highest mountain on Earth.

Ipadio, the experts in communicating from hard to reach environments through innovative channels, is sponsoring the streaming of film and blog content live from Everest Base Camp. Students will be able to share their experiences live across a variety of platforms in the UK such as the academy’s website and its social media network, including Facebook.

Experiences from the first two Extreme Classrooms – The Coldest Classroom on Earth in 2011 which saw pupils trek half way from the Arctic Circle to the North Pole and The Hottest Classroom on Earth in 2012 which involved an eight-day trip to the African Rift Valley in Tanzania to experience at first-hand the nomadic lifestyle of the Maasai tribes people – has proven that this activity inspires, motivates and changes the lives of students with a previously limited outlook on what life can offer.

Whilst the expeditions are high profile this should not disguise the fact that they are a national focal point acting to change the lives and perspective of all students within the programme who, through inclusion in the planning, preparation and support of the expeditions extend their knowledge of teamwork, geography and culture. The Extreme Classrooms programme is managed by The Springfields Academy but invites students from all over the UK to be involved and included. The results are clear from the academic and vocational results that the students go on to achieve.

The principles and teaching practices developed within The Springfields Academy/Extreme Classrooms regime have led to outstanding performance by The Springfields Academy’s students in the UK national curriculum and examinations:

88% of pupils make upper quartile progress (more than two levels of progress) in all subjects in all Key Stages of secondary education. (OFSTED commented that this was remarkable!)
On admission 50% of students are in the bottom 2% nationally for literacy and numeracy but on leaving qualifications exceed national average with over 40% of students exceeding GCSE 5 grade A-C or equivalent including English and Mathematics
No NEETs in last 4 years (NEET - Not in Education, Employment or Training).
School of Outstanding performance under new OFSTED regulation framework

The Springfields Academy is also a specialist sports college, offering high level coaching for gifted children and delivering sport for all.

For further information, visit www.springfields.wilts.sch.uk

Twitter: @SpringfieldsAcd, www.twitter.com/SpringfieldsAcd

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Springfields-Academy/340226516022604

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-springfields-academy

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/SpringfieldsAcd

Ends

Editorial contacts:

Sara Tye or Emma De Maio

redheadPR

Tel: 07786 176 617 or 07921 160 134

Email: sara@redheadpr.co.uk or emma@redheadpr.co.uk

The Springfields Academy – Backgrounder

The Springfields Academy is an award-winning visionary educational institution like no other. Providing support for vulnerable children with complex learning difficulties and challenging behaviour, this specialist residential school is known for its world class standard of innovation in the educational sector.

The Springfields Academy has an impressive track record of awards. In the 2012 Times Educational Supplement Awards, they scooped two titles: Outstanding School of the Year and Outstanding Special Needs School of the Year. In the same year they also achieved the Special Education Needs Provision Award at the Business Education Awards.

By working with international partner schools and delivering a global dimension to curriculum-based work, The Springfields Academy achieved the full award level of accreditation from the International School Awards in 2009.

The vision at The Springfields Academy is to inspire self-belief among vulnerable children. The academy provides extensive academic and vocational opportunities for pupils, nurturing their education and interests. Pupils are enabled to develop their self confidence by demonstrating and building on their abilities, sharing it with their peers.

One of the many groundbreaking initiatives of The Springfields Academy is “The Extreme Classroom”, created by Principal Trystan Williams and Alan Chambers, MBE, Former Royal Marine Commando, a renowned, determined and inspirational figure most known for his expeditions in the Polar Regions. The intrinsic belief driving this project is that pupils excel when they are challenged, pushing them beyond the limits of expectation. The unique initiative presents an opportunity for pupils to develop self-belief, overcome adversity and prove a point to themselves and others who may have written them off. Vice Principal, Jon Hamp has lead and consolidated the development of this concept since its initiation.

Through The Extreme Classroom concept Trystan has the objective to raise awareness about complex learning difficulties and challenging behaviour: the project has become the subject of documentaries filmed and aired by the BBC. The Hottest Classroom on Earth expedition in 2012 involved an eight-day trip to the African Rift Valley in Tanzania, in which ten pupils gained first-hand experience of the nomadic lifestyle of the Maasai tribes people. In 2011, The Coldest Classroom on Earth saw four pupils trek in near Arctic Circle. This year the selected students will face a Mount Everest Base Camp trek in The Highest Classroom on Earth, whilst plans for more of The Extreme Classroom programmes are in the pipeline.

The unique academy reaches several international locations. As a member of the Connecting Classrooms education programme, they have partnerships with Yanbu, the Vocational School in Nanhai, China, Ahmad Toqan School in Jordan, and CIEP Mane Garrincha School in Mage, Brazil. The partnerships have facilitated students, and teachers, to experience a world of different culture and language, visit the schools abroad, and establish valuable connections with the Internationally-linked schools. Plans have also been made to install video conferencing facilities for communication with other schools in countries across the globe, including Mexico and Texas.

The Springfields Academy believes in providing comprehensive support for families, offering family and parenting support groups, as well as the option to use a family link worker.

Established in 1999, the academy has developed a wealth of expertise in educating pupils for qualifications within several sectors, including hospitality and catering, hair and beauty, sports, construction, leisure and the motor industry.

Accredited courses in animal care and horticulture, together with therapeutic activity sessions for young people have also become available, thanks to the academy’s foundation of the Greenfields Farm in 2012. The site’s entire development was overseen by The Springfields Academy, and it has become the community hub for sharing horticultural knowledge and experience. As part of their ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ Curriculum, The Springfields Academy aim to educate pupils about sustainable farming, as they believe time spent outdoors is highly valuable to instil a sense of constructiveness and teamwork.

The Springfields Academy is a specialist sports college, offering high level coaching for gifted children, and delivering sport for all.

The Springfields Academy have 90-100 pupils boarding full-time, and teachers also educate 500 students aged between seven and seventeen, some of which are from other schools.