A pilot project developed by the eleven schools in the Whitley Excellence Cluster (WEC) together with the Ufton Court Educational Trust and local MP Martin Salter was presented to Schools Minister Vernon Coaker last week at a special meeting held in the Department for Children, Schools, and Families.

Those attending the meeting included Linda Miller, Chair of ASPIRE2 (the WEC Charity), Mary Riall of Ufton Court Educational Trust, Charlie Clare from Geoffrey Field Junior School, Sheila Tibbenham, WEC Manager, and Martin Salter MP.

The project, which is seeking £588,000 of funding, aims to deliver 3,000 affordable outdoor adventure/summer camp opportunities to Whitley children for as little as £25 per week. It currently costs over £350 per week to send a child to an outdoor education centre - money that many families simply cannot afford.

The project builds on a unique and developing partnership between Ufton Court and the Whitley schools. Already teachers are seeing the benefit of a comparatively small number of children who have been able to experience outdoor camps in the summer and Easter at Ufton Court. The project hopes to build four specially designed student log cabins in the grounds of Ufton Court together with facilities and equipment for outdoor adventure activities including ropes courses, canoeing, archery, and orienteering.

Reading West MP Martin Salter said:-

“It’s important to deliver affordable outdoor adventure opportunities to children from less advantaged backgrounds. There remains significant numbers of young people who live in a place like Reading who have no knowledge or comprehension of the beautiful Berkshire countryside that is on our doorstep. I’m really pleased for those children whose parents can afford the £350 a week cost of sending them to residential locations such as Rhos-Y-Gwaliau in North Wales, but the fact remains that many youngsters from poorer backgrounds who need these experiences the most are often the ones the least likely to go. This groundbreaking project demonstrates that you don’t have to take children two hundred miles away to give

them hugely valuable experiences which can do wonders for their confidence and help them develop important skills which will stand them in good stead in later life.”

Charlie Clare, Chair WEC, Headteacher Geoffrey Field Junior School said:-

“I am so pleased that Martin Salter managed to arrange a meeting for us with the education minister who must have been impressed with our project. I just hope he will be able to support us. I want every pupil in Whitley to feel that the boundaries of the estate have been extended to include Ufton Court; I want them to feel it’s theirs.”

Mary Riall, Director of the Ufton Court Educational Trust said:-

“Ufton Court Educational Trust is very excited at moving a step closer to the shared vision of an outdoor centre for Whitley children at Ufton Court.”

Lynda Miller, Chair of ASPIRE2 said:-

“We were very encouraged by our meeting with Vernon Coaker at the DCSF and hope that, with their help, we can turn our dream into a reality.  A dream of a permanent centre at Ufton Court for every child in Whitley that can be used throughout a child’s school days from an early age, something they feel is theirs by right and gives more than a glimpse of what is possible when they take on challenges outside the estate.”

Sheila Tibbenham, WEC Manager said:-

“It was so important to advise the minister of the experience the children had from going to Ufton and the difference this can make in their lives.”