MCS Junior School teacher Jilli Wade and her son Joshua (OW 2013 and former Head of School) completed the epic challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro over the summer. The climb, which took five days to reach the summit and another two days to descend, proved to be a tough physical challenge.

Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and at 5,895 metres, is the fourth highest peak of the seven summits. Jilli and Joshua trained hard for the expedition by running, swimming and walking with weights,in order to meet the physical demands of climbing for fourteen hours a day at altitude, finding that the key to their success was ascending at a steady and slow pace.

Jilli described the adventure as, ‘The hardest and best thing I’ve ever done,’ returning with a fresh perspective on life and the new mantra, ‘If you believe – you can!’ – a great motto to share with her pupils. She is now considering her next adventure, hopefully to Antarctica…