A GROUP of women have successfully completed a trek of Ben Nevis, raising more than £2,000 for the new Additional Support Needs school which opened in North Ayrshire last month.

On Sunday, August 29, Megan Stewart, whose son attends Lockhart Campus, which brings together the pupils of Haysholm, Stanecastle, James Reid and James MacFarlane, Nicole Murphy, whose brother is a pupil, and friend Michelle Cannon decided to take on Scotland’s highest mountain in a bid to boost funds and help the school deliver the best learning.

Their efforts were rewarded with an incredible £2,200 in donations which will be split between the formation of a new parent council and the full installation of the SmileSmart DriveDeck system - a powerful tool for the safe, fun teaching and assessment of people with disabilities.

Megan, of Saltcoats, told the Herald: “All the schools have come together so we have to start parent council funds again.

“They’ve not built a parent council yet but I knew about the Drivedeck system from when we had a virtual tour of the school and we were told that it was an extendable system that you can add to but that you need funding for.

“I was going to do Ben Nevis anyway as my first ever Munro so I thought I’d do it for that. My wee boy started in the school this year so I thought it would be a good reason.

“We planned it on a whim. Nicole is a PT, her business is Murphy’s Warriors. I started attending online classes during lockdown and in Nicole’s spare time, she climbs Munros and does some with clients, too. Nicole’s wee brother has started at the school as well so there was a mutual relation there.”

She continued: “Michelle has worked in schools with people with disabilities before, too, and you don’t get to meet a lot of folk because of Covid so we just got it organised.

“It took us around three hours and 40 minutes. I think because we were doing it for a reason, it felt easier. It would’ve been a longer slog if we were just doing it for the sake of it.

“We had the fundraising page open for 10 days so it was short and sweet. The Drivedeck System gives pupils more freedom to do things on their own and they can even control it themselves.”

She added: “It’s an amazing school and it’s given them amazing opportunities.”