Old Westcliffian Max Cole, and his father Anthony, Co-Chair of Governors at WHSB, begin their ambitious adventure today and they embark on their challenge to climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, Northeastern Tanzania.   The School is delighted that, in taking on this incredible challenge, they aim to raise funds to support the School with the replacement of our tartan and long jump pit facility, and we are grateful to them for their generous support. 

As Max and Anthony ascend the tallest mountain in Africa, and the highest free-standing mountain in the world, they will trek through the unique and incredibly varied flora and fauna, lush rainforests and high-alpine deserts, to vast ice fields and glorious glaciers.  This immense mountain is made up of three volcanoes: Shira, Mawenzi, and their goal, Kibo, the tallest one in the middle.  Our climbers have a demanding schedule planned over seven days, accompanied by a local guide.

Our tartan facility is not merely something which is ‘nice to have’ for our top athletes; this effectively serves as an outdoor classroom for all our pupils.  Aside from providing a surface for long-jump and other athletics training, for example hurdles training, this is a surface on which skills are taught to all pupils when engaging in physical education lessons, and it is important for general fitness.

The price quoted for replacement of the tartan facility and associated equipment is an eyewatering £50,000.  Funding for schools has been in serious decline for over 10 years, with many schools now in a budget deficit position.  The School continues to manage our budgets carefully, but without support from the School community will not be able to replace the tartan and other facilities, as there are so many competing pressures on the budget. 

Donations can be made via School’s Pupil Fund. Please follow this link to donate

CLIMBING MOUNT KILIMANJARO: AN UPDATE FROM ANTHONY AND MAX - 07/09/2024

“Our journey to Tanzania was all proceeding as planned until passengers were stopped from boarding the plane from Gatwick to Doha as apparently the plane had earlier been struck by lightning and needed fixing. This resulted in a 3-hour delay and us missing our connecting flight from Doha to Kilimanjaro Intl. So we are now in Doha (43 degrees! ) till our flight goes at 1-50am. This all means we start the trek as soon as we arrive at 7-30am on poor sleep and in a rushed state of mind. But WHSB boys are resilient and can deal with adversity!”

Well done to them both for showing the true Westcliffian spirit in the face of adversity! We are thinking of them and wishing them well with the challenge ahead!

CLIMBING MOUNT KILIMANJARO: AN UPDATE FROM ANTHONY AND MAX - 08/09/2024

We are delighted to hear that Max and Anthony are making good progress in their adventure. They have shared their latest update, having now reached Tanzania.

“At last we’ve made it to Tanzania, and been driven direct to the Machame Gate where our trek commences. Today, we hike through the rainforest for 4 hours up to a height of around 3000m where we spend our first night on the mountain.”

We wish them both good luck as they begin their challenging climb.

CLIMBING MOUNT KILIMANJARO: AN UPDATE FROM ANTHONY AND MAX - 08/09/2024

Today, we are excited to hear from Anthony and Max that they have made their first camp after 5 - 6 hours of hard, hot walking through the rain forest. There will be no more jungle flora now, as they prepare for the next stage of their climb of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Well done to them both on their impressive start, and we hope they are enjoying a well-earned break before the next stage.

CLIMBING MOUNT KILIMANJARO: AN UPDATE FROM ANTHONY AND MAX - 09/09/2024

It is Day 3 of Anthony's and Max's climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, and this morning they have shared that they are now above the cloud line, pictured here. Today, they ascend to 4800m to the Lava Tower, before sleeping lower tonight, to aid acclimatisation.

We wish them well for their challenge today! If you would like to sponsor Anthony and Max in raising funds for the School's tartan/athletics facility, details are available using this link: https://www.whsb.essex.sch.uk/.../supporting-westcliff...

AN UPDATE FROM MOUNT KILIMANJARO - 10/09/2024

Today, from their camp, Max and Anthony ascended the Baranco Wall. The Wall is the most technically difficult part of the hike and, they report, ‘scary’! Max, in true Westcliffian spirit, faced his fear and conquered the Wall. Congratulations to Max and Anthony for successfully completing this particularly challenging stage.

We are grateful to them both for their generous offer to raise funds for the School’s tartan/athletics facility, which serves as an Outdoor Classroom for pupils’ physical education. The School needs to raise £50,000 to replace this much needed resource and Max and Anthony are seeking sponsorship from the School community and friends to help us reach this target.

Thank you for your support.

UPDATE FROM MOUNT KILIMANJARO - 11/09/2024

Anthony and Max are making fantastic progress with their ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro, and they are now at base camp at 4700m, and resting before they leave at midnight for the summit at 5800m. They anticipate this stage will take them around 7 hours, and that it will be particularly difficult. We are proud of them both for taking on this challenge and wish them good luck with their climb to the summit.

They have also shared some additional photographs of yesterday’s climb and we are pleased to also share those here.

UPDATE FROM MOUNT KILIMANJARO - 12/09/2024

We are delighted to hear the wonderful news that, today, Max and Anthony have reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, and congratulations to them both on this astonishing achievement!

Their report indicates they consider this “the hardest 8 hours” of their lives, but despite that, it has been a truly fantastic experience.

We are proud of them both, and looking forward to congratulating them face-to-face when they return from their adventure. In the meantime, we wish them well as they now begin their return trek.