Three of our pupils got to enjoy the experience of a lifetime last week as they joined the 2023 Tall Ships Race, sailing from Den Helder in Holland all the way across the North Sea home to Hartlepool.
Our adventurers, who raised the funds to join the trip entirely on their own, did themselves proud in what turned out to be a grueling sail in tough conditions.
Sailing north against strong winds of over 30 knots (almost 35 mph), the hardy crew arrived in Hartlepool on the morning of July 5th.
Taking a sailing ship across the north sea in harsh weather is an amazing achievement that our students Kirsty, Ella, and Tom will remember for a long time! Ella was also lucky enough to be interviewed by the BBC as part of their coverage of the event, which sees some truly impressive vessels visit our town.
We are especially proud of the hard work our sailors put in to secure the funding for the trip, which was entirely self-funded. We’d also like to give a huge thanks to The Cirdan Sailing Trust who played a huge part in making this experience possible for our students.
At St Hild’s Church of England School, we strongly encourage our students to broaden their horizons and take the opportunities available to them as they come. The initiative Kirsty, Ella, and Tom have shown is fantastic!
Hartlepool has long been a maritime town, and it’s also wonderful to see our young people continuing this tradition!