Crown Primary School kids hear about cool project
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PUPILS at an Inverness school played it cool while being captivated by the experiences of a young polar explorer.
Arran Goddard (19), from Edinburgh, introduced Crown Primary children to the opportunities offered by The Polar Academy – a project aiming to boost young people’s confidence through intensive training and expeditions to Greenland.
They identify young people aged between 14 and 17 with low self-esteem and give them the chance to redefine their physical and mental limits through a rigorous 10-month training programme preparing them for an expedition to Greenland, navigating through some of the world’s most remote terrain for 10 days and eventually sharing their experience with peer groups in Scottish schools.
Mr Goddard, who went to Greenland in 2017, said: “I first heard about the project when the founder, Craig Mathieson, came for a presentation at my high school and asked for anyone who’d like to get involved to apply. I decided to try it and I was selected to be one of the 20 participants among 300 applicants.
“The training was very tough but it was an incredible experience.
“Initially I was not in the team who would have taken part in the expedition. However, I worked very hard throughout the training period and when one of the members who was supposed to go to Greenland dropped out, I was selected to replace him.
“Before this experience I was very shy and I suffered a lot from bullying, especially as a male dancer, but doing the Polar Academy gave me a huge confidence boost. Through the training and the expedition you feel like you can achieve anything you want.
“I really want to encourage young people to get involved in this amazing experience.”
He is currently studying adventure tourism management at West Highland College UHI in Fort William and is involved in other expeditions to America, Canada and Iceland, as well as becoming a speaker for the academy.
Crown Primary head teacher Miriam MacDonald said: “It was absolutely fantastic.
“Arran went around six different classes to speak to our students and it was really inspiring for the children to see someone who has achieved so much.
“They had great questions for him and they were really engaged. He was really engaging with the staff as well.
“I am hoping that we will be able to have him back and do some work about learning patterns. It could help children recognise when they are struggling or when there is an aspiration they have and being able to communicate it and overcome the difficulties.”
* The Polar Academy features in BBC One Scotland’s Arctic Academy, shown on Monday evenings.
