The Glasgow Schools Adventure Race is an annual event that is open to all Glasgow Secondary Schools.  The event is organised by Blairvadach Outdoor Centre in Rhu near Helensburgh and takes place in and around the Gareloch.  This was the fourth year the race has taken place and the event has grown steadily, with schools competing for the Blairvadach Trophy. 

It involved pupils competing as a team within a range of outdoor activities throughout the day.  Each school can have up to eight participants within a team, however, only six are permitted to participate at any one time within an activity.  Cleveden had representative pupils from S3-S5 for this year’s event, who were:  Dan Richardson, Taylor McConnell, Connor Warren, Samantha McGowan, Kieren Stevenson, Umar Ashfaq, Ben McInally & Lorna Thompson.

This year’s event took place in June and had 11 Secondary Schools taking part with teams of pupils from S3 upwards over a four day period.  The event is designed to challenge pupils both physically and mentally as they race around a course that includes Canoeing, Cross Country Running, Orienteering, Mountain Biking, Kayaking, Problem Solving and a High Wire task.  Around 3/4 schools competed on each of the days, racing against the clock.  For certain events, time penalties could be awarded but basically the team/school with the fastest time over the course over the four day period is the winner.                                                             

The next activity involved the team making their way back across the Gareloch to the centre in Kayaks, covering a further 3000m.  Once back, the race wasn’t quite over as there were still the problem solving task and then the High Wire task.  30 minutes was allocated to both but depending upon how well the team did in each, resulted in valuable time being deducted from their overall race time for completing the course.

All pupils worked tirelessly throughout the day, pushing themselves to the limit and supporting and encouraging their teammates.  The overall camaraderie was wonderful as, despite the pupils being physically and mentally tired, they kept their spirits up at all times, motivating one another to do his/her best, including participants of competing teams.

To celebrate this event, all competing schools were invited to the Glasgow City Chambers for the formal presentation of the Blairvadach Trophy to the winning school.  Unfortunately, it was not Cleveden who won but it has certainly spurred us on to try and win next year.  So, watch this space!