Old Blue Jamie Facer-Childs (2005) is currently part of a six-man expedition team that is crossing the Antarctic on foot to raise £100,000 for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/spear17). The Expedition is called Spear 17, and is headed up by Lou Rudd. The team reached the South Pole on Christmas Day, lost one man, and are now on their way to the other side of the Antarctic – battling strong winds and temperatures that are plummeting to -50 degrees, but they are still in high spirits. If they complete the expedition, they will be five of only 11 people ever to succeed at crossing the Antarctic this way. Blue Coat received this message from Jamie at the beginning of the Spring Term:

“This is a hallo to ReadingBlue Coat School from Jamie Facer-Childs calling you from the bottom of the earth in Antarctica. I’m part of the SPEAR17 expedition and we’re now over 59 days into our expedition. And as I lie here in the tent with -50 winds howling around me outside, I just wanted to say happy new year to you all and I hope you’ve had a fantastic Christmas holidays.

But it’s term-time again. I’m sure you’ve got mock exams, sports, lessons, stories to share to keep you all busy, but here’s an update from Antarctica.

So, for the past 50 days we’ve been facing the onset of challenges thrown at us in Antarctica. Where we’ve been waking up at 7am each day, firing up the cooker, melting snow for our daily food and water, before packing up our tents and spending the next ten hours of the day ski-hauling all our food and equipment across frozen ice. We’ve experienced temperatures of down to -50, where you can lose feeling in your hands within five seconds if you don’t keep warm. We’ve lost weight, we’ve exhausted ourselves dragging our sledges over ridges of ice and through deep snow. So the best part of the day is collapsing into the tent after a we’ve put it up at the end of ten hours ski-hauling, and having some dinner. But then you just know you’ve just got to beat it all again the next day.

But we had an amazing Christmas ourselves, we arrived at the South Pole on Christmas Day,  and had some celebrations there. But after over 900 miles of walking, we’re now 200 miles from the finish roughly and I have to say it’s been tough. And this last part of the journey has been all down to determination and just getting on with it. So just some information, more people have actually walked on the moon than have done what we’re doing. Anyhow, enough of that.

I wanted to call and just wish all the pupils at Blue Coat the best of success for 2017. From the youngest to the oldest, whether you’re sitting your A-levels, and are off to uni, or whether you’re new to the school, or play in a sports team, all the best to you.

And remember that the world’s a big place and you have a place in it. Discovery comes from curiosity and exploration, so never be afraid to try something new, and see what you end up doing. Work hard, play hard. Push yourselves, do your best and smile to encourage those around you to do their best as well. That’s all from me. And best wishes to you all. Happy new year. Bye bye.”

Photo credit: Carl Alvey