Gairloch High School pupils set sights on 'inner gold' after inspiring pep talk from champ Karen Darke who sets 'Quest 79' challenge
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
PUPILS at a Wester Ross secondary have embarked on a quest to find their “inner gold” after a personal pep talk from a woman who knows a thing or too about the subject.
Gairloch High School has taken up the Quest 79 – Pole of Possibility challenge which has assumed a greater significance in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
Head teacher Wim Chamlet has invited the wider school community to get involved in the upbeat movement which is being championed by Paralympic gold medallist, Karen Darke.
He said: “As a school we set up this quest to spread a positive virus of inspiration to all our pupils and our community by unlocking your instinct for adventure and redefine physical and mental limits.
“Our school quest is 79 individual challenges with each individual challenge to connect to the number 79. It is a discovery of ourselves in our quest to find our inner gold. We also aim to raise £2000 for the Spinal Injuries Association.
“A strength, a passion or quality that we had lost or we never realised we had. We aim to inspire each other and our local community to believe in ourselves and be ambitious for future.”
Ms Darke was paralysed from the chest down at the age of 21 while sea cliff climbing. Since then she has hand-cycled across the Himalaya from Kazakhstan to Pakistan and crossed Greenland’s ice cap while sitting on skis using her arms and poles to cover 372 miles.
She won the gold medal in the women’s road time trial event at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and has helped inspire others to achieve their own goals regardless of the obstacles faced.
The atomic number of golf is 79.
Talking about the challenge being undertaken first by S1 to S3 pupils, Mr Chamlet said: “This does not have to be a physical challenge. Here are some examples: read 79 books; pick up litter for 79 days; have 79 days of eating fruit and vegetables or give 79 compliments to 79 different people.
“We have been inspired by Karen Darke MBE and Craig Matheson and Iona Somerville (Polar Academy) who are undertaking a unique Antarctic challenge in January 2022. A journey to a never-before visited point in Antarctica at the intersection of 79, 79 degrees latitude and longitude; representing all that is possible when we discover our inner gold.”
Karen has posted a motivational video for the Gairloch High School Quest 79 in which she speaks of her love for the Wester Ross community and thanks pupils for getting involved.
The Pole of Possibility is the last of the original Quest 79 challenge by Ms Darke to cycle/journey the length of rivers and oceans on seven continents.
The small diverse team will be stretched further from their comfort zones than ever before in the wild icy Antarctic continent, to carry the message of possibility to create this new pole. The project is in partnership with the Polar Academy, and embodies the value of inspiration through exploration.
The head teacher said parents and carers can help the schools own quest by supporting their children “with setting a challenge that gets them excited, but which they will have to put some effort into. Something that they are not certain whether it is possible unless they learn some new skills or get out of their comfort zone”.
Challenges to date include planting 79 trees and doing 79 jobs for local people to raise funds.
