Outdoor centre closure 'will hit next generation'
Sarah DonkinCampaigners fighting to save an outdoor education centre fear the next generation of youngsters will miss out on developing key skills that will guide them throughout the rest of their lives.
High Borrans at Windermere, Cumbria, is owned by North Tyneside Council, but the authority has proposed shutting it in November saying it needs a £3m investment and fewer of the borough's school children are using the facility.
Sarah Donkin and Martin Andrews are among a group lobbying the authority to reverse its stance, having attended a Young Leaders programme there that ran between 2012 and 2018.
The pair say it helped them build confidence along with communication and teamwork skills.
Thousands of youngsters have visited the site, which has operated as an outdoor centre since 1967, with almost 200 enrolled on the Young Leaders scheme.
Donkin, a former pupil at Marden High School, in North Shields, and then Whitley Bay Sixth Form, credits her time at High Borrans with encouraging her to follow a teaching career.
She joined the Young Leaders when she was 15 and attended the facility for four consecutive years with activities including summiting Helvellyn - England's third-highest peak - and canoeing at Ullswater.
Describing herself as "a really shy kid... someone who would never put my hand up in class", she says she felt much more assured by the time she was studying for A-levels.
Now 28, she lives and works in York.
"Being in the outdoors and facing a really difficult challenge but having the tools to deal with it taught us resilience and to be proud of what you've achieved.
"That's something you can take forward. You know how to dig deep and help others - it's invaluable."
She says the staff there were inspiring.
"I think about them often when I'm delivering lessons and looking at how I'm going to interact with children."
'From school to work'
Andrews, 25, says his time in the Lake District encouraged him to "step outside" his comfort zone and gave him the belief to study at Newcastle College and Newcastle University before taking a job as a design engineer in the renewable energy industry.
First attending the centre as a pupil at Wallsend's Carville Primary, he joined the Young Leaders programme in 2016 while at Burnside Community College having initially been "hesitant" because he did not know anyone else participating.
"Growing up in Wallsend, outdoor activities were limited to football and going to the park, or the occasional family holiday somewhere," he explains.
"Climbing a mountain, going into caves and ghyll scrambling gave me a chance to see how beautiful the countryside is.
"It can unlock hobbies people will enjoy for the rest of their lives."
Sarah DonkinJo Barnett, head of centre at High Borrans between 2004 and 2016, launched the Young Leaders project and says it was "all about supporting the transition from school to work".
"At the time, North Tyneside had 10% of young people aged 18 to 25 not in education, employment or training (NEET) and the national average was 8%, so it was about using outdoor learning to develop essential skills.
"It was huge area of concern for the government and it hasn't gone away."
Now chief executive of the Institute for Outdoor Learning, Barnett warns the planned closure is "part of a pattern" as local authorities struggle with money worries.
She is calling for the authority to look into whether charities or private companies could get involved to run it.
"All credit to North Tyneside Council because they have kept the support for High Borrans when others have already let theirs go," she says.
"But we could explore other models that might enable it to continue to provide education experiences.
"There aren't many council services that people love, but people love High Borrans."
A petition calling for the centre to remain open has been launched with Donkin, Andrews and their campaign counterparts aiming to secure 2,000 signatures in order to trigger a debate at a council meeting next week.
The authority says the closure decision had been "difficult but necessary" as fewer than half the schools in North Tyneside now visit with others using alternative providers for outdoor learning.
"Like councils across the country, we are facing significant financial pressures," it says.
"Demand for essential services, particularly in social care, continues to rise, and we must make responsible decisions about how public money is used."
