Tori James blog

Last week I visited the Duke of York’s Royal Military School in Dover.

On the Friday evening I was invited to speak at the Upper Sixth Form Dinner. The students transformed the school dining hall into something resembling a royal banquet and I was treated to a wonderful 5 course meal before giving them a taster of life on Mount Everest.

On Saturday morning I spoke to pupils in Years 9 and 12 about Everest and all the training and preparation that goes alongside a high-altitude expedition. I was delighted to see that so many of them had an interest in the outdoors. Many of the pupils had seen the recent ascent of Kilimanjaro by various UK celebrities in aid of comic relief and lots of the questions I was asked related to Kilimanjaro and Tanzania as well as about fundraising for an expedition. Good luck to all those students embarking on expeditions this summer - remember to wear in those walking boots!