As an immersive introduction to our ‘Extreme environments’ topic, we were delighted to welcome key motivational speaker, Nigel Vardy, in to our hall to explain why he is often known as ‘Mr Frostbite’. As all the year 6s will agree, Nigel is extremely positive despite losing his fingers, toes and nose due to extreme frostbite during an attempt to conquer one of the world’s most difficult peaks. We learned that Mount McKinley, or Denali, standing 20,320ft above sea level in Alaska, is the highest peak in North America, and the third most isolated peak on Earth after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. In Nigel’s words, “Mount McKinley is one of those magical mountains that people want to climb. Unfortunately, in 1999, I was one of three Britons caught up there. I suffered severe frostbite. I lost all my toes, the backs of my heels, all my fingertips and my nose.”

With his climbing partners, Steven Ball and Anthony Hollinshead, Nigel was only 300 yards from the summit when they were defeated by a ferocious wind battering ice and snow into their faces.

Nigel’s experiences of recovering from severe frostbite injuries have led him to become a motivational speaker and author. His inspirational story of perseverance reminds us that we should always conquer our dreams and believe that we can achieve anything we put our minds to. After losing his toes, he was told that he might never walk again, and yet he is the president of Buxton Mountain Rescue, he still regularly climbs mountains and he also visits schools to share his story with others.

Mr Vardy said he wanted to inspire young people to do something positive with their lives. A spokesperson from an upcoming initiative, ‘BecomingX’ said: "Nigel's story teaches us so much about what it is to be human. That we can face huge adversity, but with the right attitude, we can come back even stronger and live a happy and fulfilling life. Nigel is an inspiration to young people and his story shows them that no matter what hardships they may face, they too have the potential to achieve extraordinary things."

This week, we have also celebrated the successes of 5 of our Year 6 children, who are this week’s Stars of the week. Well done Minnie, Carys, Hassan, George and Beau.