Exeter Cathedral School

I try to balance my talks and lectures to ensure I give more of my free time to schools rather than corporations, albeit the latter pays the bills. Last week I was down in the South West of England at Exeter Cathedral School, talking to kids about motivation, determination and discipline. I used my last 3 adventures as metaphors for trying to inspire kids on how they should look to themselves for their source of motivation, setting their own standards by which they should measure themselves, rather than always trying to live up to expectations that others may have of them.

I wish I had been encouraged more as a child to set my own personal standards and goals and to try and live up to them rather than always doing (and failing) what was expected of me.
I was your classic overweight, bullied, picked-on kid at school, always selected last at sport and usually associated with kids far more needy and dysfunctional than I was. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, was my way out of the trap, it taught me much of what I love about life nowadays and showed me that a its important to spend as much time as possible being outdoors and active. Wherever I can I try to encourage schools to participate in the Scouts and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, the skills provided outside of the classroom will last a lifetime.

Thanks to Andrew Pennington for hosting me and the year 8’s who strangely enough knew exactly how to navigate using the sun and wind the win in a desert - amazing what we are teaching kids in school these days!

Clifton College lecture

I recently finished a lecture series at Clifton College in Bristol on Exploring Antarctica; it was less about Exploration per se and more about how to walk to the South Pole. Working with the great teachers at Clifton we clothed the curriculum topics of nutrition and healthy eating along with temperature and thermal dynamics, with teaching the kids the principals of surviving in extreme conditions not only from a practical physical point of view but also an emotional and mental one.

The course was a resounding success and my skills at keeping 40 or so 10 year olds quiet and concentrating for an hour or more are much improved, all the teachers wanted to know how I did it. Easy when you bring along a GPS, 10 kilos of Cadburys Dairy milk and an ice-saw for the kids to play with!

My thanks to all the staff and pupils at Clifton College who continue to support me and allow me to train at the excellent facilities of the Clifton College Sports Centre.

“Jon gave most considerately of his time to inspire and enthrall the pupils. He has natural way of incorporating education elements from our curriculum into his incredible story.”
Julian Edgell, Clifton College

The local paper had this to say: Article

School kids are intimidating!

A fabulous school in Rustington (West Sussex) very near to where I live, provided me with great support on my last expedition. On my return I promised I would come in and talk to them about life in the cold in return for their support.

They were tremendously knowledgeable about life in the Antarctic and knew all about Shackleton and his expeditions. So much so during the term they recreated the infamous Endurance Expedition with tents set up in the classroom, applied in writing to join Shackletons expedition and each child took on a specific role to ensure their trip was successful. They all kept diaries and journals just like Crean and Worsley and I was very pleased to get to see some of them at the end of my talk.

There is something uniquely satisfying about being able to inspire kids, they were all fascinated about how I became an adventurer, the easy answer is Cubs, Scouts, The Duke of Edinburgh's Awards scheme - once you head down the road that leads you to appreciate the outdoors, then it is pretty hard to leave it. I was taught at a young age to appreciate the hills and mountains of the UK and Canada, and I will always be grateful to those that spent time teaching me about how to appreciate the outdoors. If it wasn't for this inspiration then I might well have taken a different path in life.

Kids pick up on everything you say (when you are not their parents!) so standing in front of 40 10 to 12 years olds, you have to be careful what you say - no matter how often I do it, it is quite intimidating.

Thanks to Iain Buchanan from Summerlea for looking after me.

(Photo: Milly one of the students wearing my Expedition Jacket)

+26 degrees - the warmest I've been in 15 months!

Wednesday must have been the hottest day of the year so far, and what was I doing when the sun had reached its very zenith? Dressed up in full Polar gear giving a talk about Antarctica to a great bunch of kids at the Primary School in Langley Fitzure, Wiltshire.

This was my last talk of the term - I have visited 15 schools now in 3 months across the UK and Ireland and this school was one of the best. There is nothing more fulfilling than engaging with a 100 or so bright, enthusiastic kids who ask intelligent questions. I was stunned that an 8 year old would know that you could navigate to the South Pole using the sun and the wind, I only learnt about it last year!

I received some interesting feedback after I returned home and I am very flattered to Blog that one of the KS2 girls named a spider after me when she got home - that's a first!

My thanks to Bec Gay for arranging the talk and to Lynn Evans, the Head Teacher for allowing me to dress up in fancy dress in the school hall.

Schools tour

I have finally finished a European tour of some 15 schools. Talking primarily about the expedition to the South Pole, using the talk as a vehicle to inspire children to live healthier and more active lifestyles.

The more I see and read in the press I am convinced we have a real child obesity problem and have decided to use my adventures and expeditions to attempt to educate children as to the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.....it will be difficult as Grand Theft Auto is on new release and there are new flavours of crisps on the shelves at the moment as well as Cadbury's latest concoction, the odds are against me.

But there is some hope, I had an email from one of the schools I spoke to and have heard they have signed up to a schools Cup Scout scheme based on my talk (a child asked how I started to be an adventurer and I told him the Cubs was the best place to learn all the basic skills for South Pole exploration!)

Thanks to all the Schools in the UK, Denmark and Ireland - you were very accommodating and I look forward to you all becoming members of the SwimWithJon program next year.

I was very flattered by the reception I got from St. Peters School in Bray, Co. Dublin - what a fantastic display on Shackleton and Crean - both incredible Irish Polar Heroes.