It’s official. Climbing's good for you. Becky Mincher reports on a new scheme pioneered at Rock City in Hull last summer.

During 2002 the BMC began supporting the first round of a three-year ‘out of school’ learning program in conjunction with Rockcity indoor climbing centre. The project was financed by The New Opportunities Fund, and targeted two under achieving schools within the city of Hull, with the aim of improving low educational attainment through participation. Both the schools involved were situated in two of Hulls’ lowest socio-economic wards, and the key features within the summer project were to increase self-esteem and motivation and promote community participation.

These ambitious targets were to be accomplished by giving the pupils the opportunity to take part in previously unobtainable ‘out of school’ activities such as climbing, canoeing, skiing and hill walking. The majority of the climbing took place at Rockcity Indoor Climbing Centre, and outdoor activities were carried out in the Peak District, Yorkshire, North Wales, and at Plas y Brenin National Mountain Centre. The project did not aim to promote climbing, but rather to use climbing and the other activities as a ‘tool’ to engage young people in group work.

Over the summer, the pupils were introduced to various social settings and taught basic communication skills, providing a stage for contextual learning, something which schools often lack. The key was to promote group work, communication and participation, all of which are an essential part of climbing and outdoor-based activities. And it soon became apparent that such teaching methods were beginning to have a positive effect on the pupils’ attitudes.

It’s easy to see why. Just think back to when you were at school, to those times sitting in a boring classroom, thinking, ‘what an earth does this have to do with anything?’ Well, put someone in an environment where they can apply what they’ve learned and the difference can be dramatic. What’s the use in teaching geography to a class if they cannot touch, feel or even see a rock? In fact, the majority of the pupils had never even left Hull, the flattest part of the country, prior to the summer project.

The pupil/teacher relationship also benefited since the pupils and teachers acted differently towards one another once out of their usual hierarchical order. All shared the same fears and apprehensions about climbing and the other outdoor activities, resulting in a ‘stripping’ of the socially ascribed roles and everyone working together in a less authoritarian manner.

The pupils soon began to respect their new surroundings, and any issues such as litter dropping were quickly tackled at an early stage. When pupils were asked to explain the differences between the countryside and their hometown, it became apparent that they saw the two very differently. All the pupils cleaned up after each visit, and this included taking other people’s rubbish as well as their own. Again, these attitudes were due to the contextual learning.

So, did it work? Well, due to working with the pupils throughout the entire project, it is fair to say that, personally, I did see major changes. And having visited the two schools since the summer, other longer-term benefits can now be identified. Both schools have produced data to suggest that the pupils who took part have improved both their grades, and their overall attitudes towards in-school learning. Plus, as a direct result of the project, two pupils ended up competing in the Yorkshire Area round of the urbanRock British Regional Youth Climbing Series, with one coming 17th in the finals! Something which none would ever have had the opportunity to do before.

Since the summer, both schools have had the opportunity to create an ‘after school’ climbing club. This was made possible through the project’s encouragement of parental and teacher participation, and both schools now have a sustainable indoor climbing community. Also after the success of this first year we have now enlisted the help of Andy Kirkpatrick, a former Hull pupil, who will be giving talks at both of the schools involved, and Ben Moon has also agreed to provide performance coaching sessions throughout the summer of 2003. Ben is keen to get started and believes that ‘It is really important to give young people every opportunity to enjoy and learn from climbing.‘

Such projects are always open to the charge of “promoting climbing”, but this was never our intention. The aim was simply to use climbing as a tool to engage the young people, and it worked. The majority of people encountered at the crag were pleased to see children being given new opportunities, and there was a general consensus that people were impressed with the BMC putting lottery money towards a good use. Of course, there was the odd person who objected to group use, but this seemed unfair, since all climbing activities took place during the week. We didn’t recruit climbers and take over ‘your’ crag for the weekend - university climbing clubs already do a pretty good job at that!

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