EVEREST CHALLENGE 2026
1 big community achievement new climbing wall
200 pupils
22 parents
8 staff
8848 metres climbed
1 Deputy mayor
Exceeded our fundraising target by 70%
ONE COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
On Wednesday 18 March 2026, the St Christopher’s The Hall community united to collectively “climb” 8,848.86 metres, the height of Mount Everest, to fund a new indoor climbing wall for the school.
Pupils walked and ran distances of up to 4.5km, while adults faced a treadmill challenge set at a 10% incline to simulate the mountain’s steep ascent.
FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF GIANTS
Deeply rooted in the school’s history and future, the pupils followed in the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary, who famously became the first to summit the ‘Goddess of the Sky’ and visited St Christopher’s upon his return, and of alumnus Tim Allardyce’s, who summited Mount Everest on 21 May 2026, at 1.22pm, local time.
One of the things I hope pupils take from my Everest expedition is that ambitious goals are achievable, but they require patience, commitment, and a willingness to persevere when challenges arise. Whether your own ‘Everest’ is in sport, education, business, or another area of life, remarkable things can happen when you refuse to give up and just keep going.
Tim Allardyce
IMMERSIVE EVEREST DAY
From constructing model mountains and exploring the geography and culture of the Himalayas, to enjoying a delicious Nepalese lunch, pupils immersed themselves in a day of adventure, learning and discovery.
Interactive Assembly
Tim Allardyce led an assembly on the morning of the Everest Challenge, where pupils got to see equipment Tim needed to scale Everest and try on some of the kit. Tim led the pupils and staff in a warm-up ready for the challenge.
The St Christopher’s Association brought the spirit of the Himalayas to life with a themed baked sale and a range of fun games, helping to raise funds and creating a sense of community and celebration.
Whether you walked, ran, donated, volunteered or cheered from the sidelines, thank you for helping us reach the summit.
The new indoor climbing wall, coming to St Christopher’s in 2027 will help pupils:
BUILD CONFIDENCE DEVELOP RESILIENCE LEARN NEW SKILLS EMBRACE CHALLENGE
LOOKING AHEAD...
We are incredibly proud of what our community has achieved through the Everest Challenge and that this is just one example of how we continue to invest in opportunities for our pupils.
The success of the Everest Challenge means the climbing wall is now fully funded. Installation is planned for 2027, following the completion of our Link Corridor building project, which will temporarily affect the hall space.
We look forward to officially opening the climbing wall alongside the completion of the Link Corridor development and sharing this exciting milestone with pupils, parents and the wider school community.
In the meantime, the Leadership Team and Mr Carter are currently reviewing the school’s strategic priorities for the next three years, looking at where we can continue to improve the school further, particularly within our specialist provision such as sport, music, drama, art and languages, as well as investing in facilities to ensure our pupils continue to benefit from the highest-quality learning environment possible.
Thank you again for all your support in raising precious funds for our school.