31 March 2011

Rachael Mackenzie reached base camp today after a one-week trek which saw her act as a mentor to a group of teenagers from Springfields residential school in Wiltshire, which specialises in pupils with behavioural and developmental disorders.

Mrs Mackenzie kept in contact with Frontline during the expedition and she updated us as the group braved harsh conditions, pulling sledges loaded with equipment across the icy Arctic terrain.

• 28 March:  ‘We are camping in temperatures of minus 57 degrees and there is ice inside the tents. We have also seen a polar bear near our camp.’

• 29 March: ‘Using dogs and a sleigh we trekked to a 4,000 -year old ice cave, containing underground fossils buried in the ice.’

• 30 March:  ‘The kids are coping well. I can see them growing in self esteem daily. They are becoming more independent and developing life skills.’

• 31 March: ‘Back at base camp and homeward bound!’

Role Models

Mrs Mackenzie, who is a sports ambassador for the Youth Sports Trust and a former world number 1 Thai-boxer, was accompanied by two other sporting mentors, a former Welsh rugby international and a British boxing champion.

Prior to the expedition she said: ‘Our role is really to inspire the young people to succeed. We are there as role models and to let them know that all you need to succeed is hard work and determination.’

Mrs Mackenzie will now return to Harrogate, where she works at Physiofunction, and to her work with young people at the Leonard Cheshire Disability unit at Alne Hall, York.

A BBC documentary about the expedition entitled ‘The Coldest Classroom on Earth’ is due to be screened this summer.