Through the support of the Sport Aberdeen Active Schools and Community Sport teams, an indoor climbing wall has been reactivated within a school in Aberdeen - a facility many pupils within the school never knew existed.
The wall at Northfield Academy was installed in 2017, however became disused due to staff turnover and the loss of qualified teaching staff to support climbing sessions.
It was a chance discovery by Lead Community Sport Hub Coordinator for Sport Aberdeen, Joe Coleman who was shown the disused wall when on a routine visit to meet the schools’ head teacher, with the space having been locked up and unused for years.
Joe said: “When I first saw the climbing space I couldn’t believe how good it was. It was easily the best wall I’d ever seen in a school. The staff at the school are brilliant and they seemed motivated to get it back into use, so it was a real no-brainer.
“It’s so important that young people have access to sports that sit outside of the mainstream provision. Having access to facilities of this quality can have a seismic impact on young people’s physical and mental wellbeing.
A collaborative effort from the Active Schools and Community Sport teams were successful in a funding application and secured £4k from Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership’s Health Improvement Fund which covered the cost of inspection, fixing and recertification of the wall, as well as employing a technical advisor and training up 32 local staff and community partners to deliver sessions as instructors.
A key factor in reactivating the wall swiftly was the decision that it would reopen for bouldering activities only. Bouldering is a discipline within rock climbing performed at a lower height without ropes or harnesses and means that sessions could be delivered without the need for more technical training, which would be required for full climbing. The space works excellently as a bouldering facility, and this provides an exciting entry point for young people into other climbing activities.
Taster sessions
Once the updates were completed, school pupils were offered the first opportunity to try it out with a programme of taster sessions organised through Active Schools for S1 and S2 pupils.
A total of 75 pupils experienced bouldering through the programme which included traditional taster sessions as well as one to one sessions with those who otherwise would struggle with general academic studies, pupils not engaging with PE and those from care experienced backgrounds.
Following the interest expressed from the taster sessions, a school lunch club session has been formed as well as an all-girls bouldering club.
Stacey Stuart, Active Schools Coordinator for the Northfield Academy cluster, said: “Reactivating our school’s climbing wall has been an investment in physical health, mental resilience, and social connection. Bouldering offers pupils a fun, engaging way to build strength, confidence, and problem-solving skills in a safe and supportive environment.
“The buzz around the newly reactivated wall has been incredible, from pupils, staff and community partners alike. Almost all of these young people had little to no previous bouldering experience and the positive engagement and response from them all has been amazing!
“It is a real asset for both the school and the local community and I’m so pleased to see it being recognised as such.
Since the taster sessions we have now seen over 140 pupils experience bouldering at the facility, and I am sure there will be many more in the future.”
Local pride
There are not many schools in Scotland that can boast owning a climbing wall facility in their community, let alone their school. Northfield Academy are one of the lucky ones. The wall has helped to instil a sense of excitement and pride among pupils and staff and has been seen to be very effective in targeted one-to-one work with care experienced young people through Active Schools SPACE project.
One pupil from the school had this to say about the bouldering sessions: “Through bouldering you get to know different people better. Bouldering makes me feel supported and lets me trust others. I have been able to do a lot more than I thought I could. It’s really helped my confidence.”
Another pupil commented: “Bouldering has been a really beneficial experience for me. We get to bond with the people we climb with and the instructors. It’s really fun and you get to learn new skills that you wouldn’t have learnt otherwise.
"Now that I’ve tried it, I want to share my experience and encourage others to try it too because it’s been so positive for me.”
Future plans
To embed the activities as a regular part of the curriculum offering at the school are in discussion for the future, as well as maximising the walls use in the wider community.
Support from Northfield Community Sport Hub has helped with plans to gain further funding to reach other external groups within the community to use the facility out with school hours. They have ambitions to support local clubs to develop performance pathways, and are currently running an after schools bouldering club for those wanting to learn more technical aspects to bouldering.
Joe said: “It's been very satisfying to see the wall come back to life and to hear first-hand the feedback from those that are using it. We have been lucky enough to gain some additional funding since the initial opening so that plans to develop further activity and protect the future viability of the facility are looking good. Northfield is a special, very community driven place and I’ve been pleased to play a small part in helping to bring about this opportunity.”
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