Community Involvement

We have developed an extensive education syllabus to compliment the Race Programme, Challenge Sailing Team and School Curriculum.

Adventurous youngsters have surfed the oceans of the world from their classroom as they follow the thrilling voyages of Hampshire yachtsman Lee Gallacher. They had been using the internet to plot every dramatic moment as Lee took on one of the most gruelling yachting challenges in the world. Via the net he had been sending back dispatches to schools from the Olympic group yacht in the BT Global Challenge.

Previously before leaving Lee had visited the school to tell the pupils about the voyage which lay ahead of him. As well as emailing the young yachtsman had been setting the children questions in a competition as he sailed around the globe relating to the places he had been and where he was heading. The project involving the pupils had great implications for the National Curriculum. 'It’s helped them immensely Geographically, They are finding places they have never heard of.' Pupils such as Kay Shafford from Norwood school, aged 10, had answered questions correctly to win prizes. A school spokesman had said 'by using the internet to keep in touch with someone on the other side of the world, the pupils realised that it is becoming a very small world'.

Schools and other organisations will benefit from the project as regular e-mails will be send to the education authority whereby schools can run a similar project to the one that was run during Lees BT Challenge. After the races, Lee hopes to attend as many schools as possible to build on the knowledge that children will learn during the events. Other organisations that are involved with this project are National Asthma Campaign, National Ankylosing Spondylitus Society and hopefully other such organisations that inspire or help children with chronic diseases.