Yet More Deserved Awards for The Mount School Borealis Society East Greenland Expedition 2024!
The Mount School Borealis Society East Greenland Expedition has recently been awarded further significant financial support, in recognition of its objectives and planning, from The Andrew Croft Memorial Fund (The ACMF). The Fund is a charity established to support the personal development of young people through field study in Arctic regions. Its main objective is to promote cooperation, team spirit, scientific understanding and leadership qualities in young people. The Trustees felt that The Mount Expedition’s application exemplified all of these objectives and was worthy of support.
The ACMF also made a second financial award, to Mary Betteridge who graduated from The Mount in 2022, and is now studying Mathematics at The University of York. Trustees were so impressed by the quality of Mary’s application, her commitment to improving her skills in a variety of fields and her intended work in the Arctic, that they also selected her for the esteemed Jamie Gardiner Award.
The Jamie Gardiner Award was created to honour the memory and achievements of a young man of great potential, whose life was tragically cut short at the age of 22 in an accident in the mountains of Norway, in January 2017. Jamie was a recipient of two ACMF grants himself including one to the Oxford University team of which he was a member, which in 2016 retraced the steps of the university’s 1923 Spitzbergen expedition. This award is made annually to an individual applicant headed for the Arctic whose application displays the attributes associated with Jamie’s character: a mix of ambition, enterprise and endeavour, coupled with a commitment to science or similar research.
Mary was also recently awarded The Peter Smith Award, from The Young Explorers’ Trust, to support her leadership development on the East Greenland Expedition.
Finally, to cap an impressive set of awards, Mary has also been given financial support from The Anglo-Scandinavian Society (CoScan), again, towards her role and participation in the expedition to East Greenland.
Congratulations to the whole team who set off to East Greenland this July. Now the planning can really shift up a gear!
Principal, David Griffiths, said:
“The recognition from these awards is exactly what a Mount education is all about. I am so thrilled that our innovative programme of expedition preparedness and leadership, plus research and hands-on volunteering, is receiving such well-deserved plaudits and funding under Nigel Bidgood’s expertise and guidance.
I am proud to sponsor these young female leaders and remain passionate and committed to empowering young women to develop multiple areas of interest to prepare them for happy, full and rewarding lives. These opportunities to explore the world will pay dividends and fit perfectly with our Quaker values of giving back to communities across the globe.”
Nigel Bidgood, Head of The Mount Borealis Society, said:
“The Mount is proud to support the development of young female leaders because it is so difficult for young outdoor enthusiasts to develop both the qualifications and experiences necessary in current times. This applies to being able to finance both the training and the expeditions. Nationally, this has led to a shortage of young leaders, particularly female ones. I raised this important issue during a recent lecture to The Arctic Club, which immediately set up a grant system to support the training and development of young trainee leaders, for which we thank them.
It’s wonderful to be recognised by such prestigious organisations as The Andrew Croft Memorial Fund, The Young Explorers’ Trust, The Anglo-Scandinavian Society (CoScan), The Arctic Club, The University of Cambridge (Scott Polar Research Institute) and The Royal Geographical Society. We thank them all heartily for these generous awards which will allow our girls to realise their dreams and pave the way and inspire the next generation of intrepid young women, exploring and learning from the amazing world around them.”
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