Blencathra Centre

Some of you will recall that we have been hoping to replace our old administration/reception building with a new ‘carbon neutral’ build which would be a catalyst for changing our energy supplies. This was a ‘favoured’ Northern Rock project, though alas the economic climate changed the goalposts and ended our funding options.

As many of you know Blencathra was originally a ‘Sanatorium’ opened in October 1904 for 20 patients. The Cumberland branch of the “National Association for the Prevention of Consumption and other forms of Tuberculosis” selected Blencathra, which was reported as having perfect drainage, ample shelter, sufficiently isolated from any town or village and having a view over “one of the most striking bits of scenery in the Lake District”.

Visitor numbers to the Centre

It would be naïve for me to expect that everyone in the village is happy with the number of visitors we receive at the Blencathra Centre, particularly because of the traffic on Blease Road. However, please let me assure everyone that we do our best to minimise journeys by our groups and always try to avoid the school drop off and pick up times when we can. To this effect I have reinforced this message in our covering letter to schools and universities:

Spotted an interesting plant or animal on a country walk, but don't have your identification books with you? Do you have an iPhone? Technology moves on and iPhones are great gadgets, though Sue would say that I spend too much time on it !

The Field Studies Council (FSC) has become the first non-school organisation to be awarded the prestigious Geographical Association’s Key Stage 3 Secondary Geography Quality Mark Award (SGQM), in recognition of excellence in teaching and learning in geography, at its field centres.

The SGQM is a framework which has been developed by the Geographical Association to enable subject leaders to raise the standards of geography, supporting the teaching of quality geography and promoting Continued Professional Development.

At Blencathra we have had our busiest year since the Field Studies Centre opened in 1993 so it is pleasing to see continued support for outdoor education and in particular to dispel the myth that it is a `too risky.`

Teachers and others should now find it easier to take young people out and about as Schools Minister Diana Johnson on November 6th launched a consultation on simple and straightforward guidance to cut red tape.

As Threlkeld residents you are getting advanced notice of a project that will appear in the press next month.In partnership with Keswick Museum & Art Gallery we are working on an Oral History Project about the Blencathra Sanatorium.

We get a lot of different types of feedback from students who visit us at the centre. I thought you might be interested in this poem we received as feedback from Ullswater Community College, Penrith.

The sun shining on the car park at UCC
All the students busy as a bee
Wondering what lies ahead what there is to see
15 students with martin and me

Kiln How

In the June edition of Beneath Blencathra you will find information regarding the Kiln How Threlkeld Community Survey. As many of you are aware, Kiln How is a valuable open space within the village.

Chris Ford one of our tutors has undertaken a species list which is indicated below. There are 70 species excluding grasses and sedges. As this was undertaken on the 25th May some might have been missed or have not yet appeared.

The Blencathra Field Studies Council Centre near Keswick is one of the first organisations in the country to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge, recognising it as a provider of quality, safely managed educational experiences for young people.

The Quality Badge is a brand new scheme, combining for the first time learning and safety into one easily recognisable badge for all organisations providing learning outside experiences.