More than 100 pupils from an Aberdeenshire school are set to take on the highest mountain in the British Isles this month to commemorate the 60th anniversary of a national charity award.
With the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Charity celebrating its diamond landmark throughout 2016, Lathallan School in Johnshaven is just one of the groups taking on the anniversary challenge.
135 pupils from its senior school plan to complete a day hike up Ben Nevis on June 10 to help the charity reach its ambition of enabling two million more young people to access the initiative by 2020.
The Duke’s charity has supported millions of young people in the UK and across the globe since it was originally founded in 1956.
Speaking about the school’s challenge, headmaster, Richard Toley, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme in its Diamond Jubilee year.
“As the school with the largest percentage of DofE uptake in Scotland, we wanted to combine our passion for outdoor learning with a special event such as this, and taking on Ben Nevis is the perfect challenge”.
Barry Fisher, director of Duke of Edinburgh in Scotland will be joining Lathallan School on their ascent next weekend.
He said: “I am absolutely delighted to be taking part in Lathallan’s Diamond Challenge event – climbing up the UK’s highest peak with pupils and teachers.
“Lathallan has grown to be one of the most successful DofE’s groups in Scotland in a very short period of time.
“They have a tremendous commitment to the DofE programme within the school and the DofE charity itself.
“So we are delighted that Lathallan was one of the first licensed organisations to support this initiative”.