A Lanarkshire school has been celebrating the great outdoors over the past few weeks with a range of adventurous trips for pupils.
The Rutherglen school hd to halt many of their outdoor activities over the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However this autumn they were able to get back outdoors again, to the delight of pupils and staff.
First up was an opportunity of a lifetime for ten S4 pupils to embark with the Ocean Youth Trust on a 74-foot sailing vessel for a five day voyage.
This was no pleasure cruise as the pupils were responsible for all the cleaning (including the toilets, much to their horror), the cooking, washing up, hoisting sails, steering the boat and tying the knots to keep it alongside in port.
Under the expert supervision of the crew, they did pretty much everything and leaving Greenock on the Monday they visited: Holy Loch, Tarbert where they got to step ashore to explore the village and have the delight of their only shower, Rhu and spent a night at anchor under the stars near Holy Island.
Having sailed over 100 miles they returned on the Friday happy, exhausted, and ready for the comfort of their own home.
A school spokesperson said: "Watching them develop as a team and gain in confidence was a joy and quotes such as 'lifechanging....', 'so much fun...', and 'I want to do this for a living....' showed how much the young people got from the week, so much so that plans are in place to repeat the trip with some new S4s the same time next year."
Meanwhile, having had Duke of Edinburgh expeditions on hold during Covid lockdowns, nineteen S6 pupils completed their practice and qualifying expeditions. Wanting these finished before the pressure of prelims and final exams, they braved all that Scottish autumn weather could throw at them, which turned out to everything apart from snow.
The practice expedition took place in the Lowther Hills with, as the name suggests, plenty of up and down for them to bound (or struggle) over.
A school spokesperson added: "With their lives on their backs and subjecting the adult staff to their taste in music and questionable singing they set off in glorious mid-September sunshine for their first taste of expedition life. Learning to navigate, the groups made their way (eventually) to Wanlockhead for their overnight wild camp, the delights of cooking their own food and the dawning realisation that there really were no toilet facilities!
"With the glorious sight of a clear night and so many stars, they settled into their tents just in time for the first frost of the season. After not a lot of sleep and waking to ice on their tents, the next day dawned with a field full of dazed teenagers wondering why they signed up!
"This was quickly dispelled as they headed off with the incentive that the better they navigated the more likely they were to return to the bus on time.
"Having learned from the practice, the group then descended on Aberfoyle for a November qualifying expedition. Far warmer, but also far wetter and windier with two nights in their tents to look forward to.
"Three days of walking, including hillsides, bogs, pathways and, for some, a glorious view from the summit of Ben An, saw them return to Aberfoyle.
"They finished wet, tired and footsore but immensely proud of their achievement. "
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