Walking and scrambling down the last kilometre of the Snowdon path back to the car park was a slightly surreal experience. Our last peak and the final stretch of path and we had a Rabbi dressed in black suit, white shirt and totally impractical black shoes leading the way. He was surprisingly agile and always staying about 10m ahead of us. If we didn’t have photographic evidence I would have thought I was hallucinating. This isn’t unheard of bearing In mind this was Sunday evening and I hadn’t slept since Friday night. 70,000 steps, 37km and 3064m in climbing had left us all exhausted; The fact that 11 of the 12 who started the challenge finished on Sunday night is truly remarkable given the challenges that faced us that weekend.

We met up at Bramhall High at 9:30 on Saturday morning. I’d hired a 17 seater minibus that’d been delivered the day before and we set to loading up which was a little tricky given there being no storage space and we had to use the spare seats. A bit behind, we set off for the 6.5 hour journey up to Fort William. The minibus seats were thinly foam covered instruments of torture, and I felt like we were being put in a stress position while blood refused to to reach your buttocks. The weather started sunny then gradually became more overcast as we headed north, the roads becoming narrower and more twisty, the mountains growing around us.

After lots of prepping and waiting to use the single toilet in use at the Ben Nevis Visitor centre we started walking around 5:30. This is a popular trail, and time of year to complete it, so there were a long stream of people going up and down, many of whom were wearing trainers and now very soggy T-shirts.

The trail was well kept, and we soon warmed up and I got down to a t-shirt. The group spread out as you really have to climb at your own pace. We got wet through, the inescapable drizzle even went through my supposed waterproof trousers. Any part of you that it didn’t get though was drenched in sweat. We climbed up into the clouds and all views were obscured. The paths were step like in some places gravelly and slippy in some others.

We summited and managed to get some pictures after waiting for a group of scousers with their cans of lager in hand to take theirs. I had to restrain myself from saying “Calm down” in a scouse accent that would get me in trouble. The last of our group was only around 10 minutes behind us. Seeing the weather we had resigned ourselves to the fact that we weren’t gong to have any views from the top as was to be the case.

Having very quickly cooled off we were keen to head back down and make sure we did it in the daylight so Andrea took off like a mountain goat at a jog down the path. We were still relatively fresh at this point so made really good progress done the mountain. It demanded concentration as we skipped over gravel and rocks starting to feel the legs burn at this point. We got to the top around 7:45 and made it back down around 10pm. Getting back to the minibus, we were all soaked to the skin and weary. Mr Wraith was traumatised from using the war zone of a toilet that had been the only outlet for 100s of walkers the whole day. It could also have been a Fecal Jackson Pollock if you have an artistic viewpoint. Trying to find and get dressed into dry gear by torchlight was a challenge in itself and it was at this point I realised just how difficult the next 24 hours would be and how much I had expected from the other 11 around me.

The others were behind and got caught as the darkness fell and this made for very slow going. Sunny had stomach pains and they struggled to make their way on the rocky path. They managed to arrive a bit after midnight.

The trip down to Scafell is the hardest leg driving wise. To begin with the skies were clear with a supermoon beaming over Loch Linnhe. After that we wound through the highlands with deer standing at the side of the road looking like they were ready to bolt and smash into the bonnet. We were still in a very rural location so there were no 24 hour garages; we had to wait until nearing Glasgow before we could stop off at a BP for much needed food and drink.

Few of us slept on the remaining journey where we arrived at Wasdale Head car park at around 5:30am, the starting point for Scafell Pike in the Lake district.

Starting early in the day, it was warm and dry and I felt much more optimistic on the ascent. Scafell has a very well travelled route on a rocky step like climb. There are long sections of gentle climbing where you can really enjoy the walk and the views are beautiful, like a stripped down version of the lake district without the trees and quaint buildings.

We all found our own pace and given the clear and well made paths, it was fine to walk on your own. Once into the clouds, I got little joy from the walk so got my head down and ground out the last few kilometres to the top. The air was so still and and quiet despite 100s of people being on the path, i’d managed to walk with no one near me. It was like being on another planet, whisper quiet and just a little eerie, until you come across some numpty with music blaring from a tiny speaker they’ve strapped to their backpack. It wasn’t an isolated thing, there were 4 or 5 mountain DJs that can’t appreciate the hike without it. Why don’t they just wear headphones? We reached the summit at around 7:40am, we regrouped and set off back down, with a little more care and caution this time reaching the bottom at 10am.

We set off from Wasdale aiming for a decent lunch stop, having burnt a tonne of calories, Pete and Andrea led the charge for a McDonald’s stop. The nearest one was about 10 minutes off the M6 Lancaster and we stopped around 1pm and I wolfed down 2 burger meals, don’t judge me, they were desperate times. My brother, who was driving, also had a megamac and a chicken wrap meal that was inhaled with alarming efficiency.

From there we reached Snowdon at around 4pm, many in the bus managed to sleep, except a few of us including me, and we went though Llanberis where there were huge queues for the railway. Another 10 minutes led us to the car park I’d pre booked. Snowdon goes up a level with tourists and we saw a big crowd gathered to cheer on the 3 peaks finishers, many of whom had set a 5pm deadline to claim the 24 hour title. We were clearly way off this pace but we should still be able to get up and down within daylight. A couple of people we had spoken to had said that Snowdon was the easiest of the 3 peaks so we were looking forward to getting it finished in good time.

In good spirits and pumped up, we started not the trail, seeing rushing hikers coming towards us desperate to finish in time. Whoever told us that Snowdon was easier was lying. The path often split into sheer rock where walkers had taken their preferred route and led you to pick your way climbing over ledges that were sometime precarious. After rounding a ridge overlooking Glaslyn lake we walked into a wall of wind. The temperature dropped, the clouds closed in and we all put our waterproofs and extra layers on. At this point I dug in and ground out the last hour of climbing. This was the toughest part of the whole weekend and this was the point that many of us struggled. Pete was close to quitting but rallied with Andrea’s motivation, Zoe panicked when Ed called her and she’d mistakenly though he was in trouble. Jamie had already said to me he may not complete snowdon because of his injured hip but he carried on showing his scouting determination and grit. Vicky kept up her steady, relentless climb to get to the top. Even Sunny's stomach pains had eased where (I imagine) he no longer saw a trump as extremely risky.

Reaching a plateau gave me false hope of reaching the summit but it was another 20 minutes before approaching the steps up to the very top. The sleep deprivation, the exhaustion, the bitterly cold wind and poor visibility had crept up on us but we all got there in the end. Through the mist I saw a man come down the steps wearing a light coloured polo shirt, chino shorts and canvas shoes, with his 2 equally summery dressed kids. Another woman stood atop wearing a floaty pink dress and heels, they all appeared out of the mist like they had been teleported there completely by surprise, with no notice and from a warm resort in the south of France. !!??!!

I went to the cafe with Paul, Ed and Charlie to have a hot chocolate where we looked out over the clouds talking about A level options! These lads had done incredibly well. Few people are able to do the 3 peaks challenge and even fewer 16 year olds. Ed and Charlie quietly got on with each climb, quickly and without any grumbles. Each time we groaned, manoeuvring our middle aged limbs off the minibus they seemed to barely notice it. I think I was like that once, only less fit… and motivated.

The trip down Snowdon we saw a group of 5 or 6 young Jewish kids in white shirts, black trousers and black school shoes scrambling up the difficult slope. It was cold and were worried that they’d make it, this wasn’t a quick jaunt up a hill after all. All 3 mountains had its fair share of people who are totally ill equipped to make the journey and just when we thought it couldn’t get any crazier, a guy heads toward us bare chested and bare foot. His feet were cut up (as happens when you try to walk across sharp rocks) and I thought that if he died, he’d be an excellent candidate for a Darwin award where people are posthumously given an award for sheer stupidity that results in their death.

Snowdon was tougher than expected but coming down was more enjoyable. Down from the clouds, it was warmer and good weather for the descent. Our drink at the top meant we missed Andrea and Pete but caught up with them and we carried on down to where we had our Rabbi who was intent on walking ahead of us. Giles had already marched on ahead leading all the way on this one.

12 Disciples of the mountains took on the 3 peaks challenge and we all needed a monumental effort and faith to complete it. Just like the bible there was even one Judas like disciple who had to get dropped off at Charnock services after Scafell because his legs were sore and it was going to finish past his bed time. just kidding Jon!

We ended up at the YHA bar next to the car park around 8:30pm. It was still light outside and warm and cosy inside where the beer tasted like nothing else. We were on our third when the last of the group came in around 10.30pm. The 2.5 hour drive back was possibly the hardest time I had in trying to stay awake.

The relief in everyone getting back safely was immense and Monday was a very slow moving affair for us all where sloth like movements were accompanied by exacerbated old age groans and limited brain activity, or more limited I should say. In short I loved it and think everyone else did too. What an achievement and something I would love to do again only in maybe 3 days not one!!

A massive thanks to my brother who drove all the way and only fell asleep 4 times while driving before stopping for coffees. To the 11 others who all have unique personality traits of being determined, generous and strong, mixed with a little bit of crazy, to accept the challenge. Thanks also to our sponsors and family who have had to put up with the extra walks, the hours packing and preparation and the worry that goes with it. We raised around £4500 in total for both schools which is fantastic for the children and will make a huge difference.

School budgets have been squeezed and Bramhall High has been lacking in funds to meet some of the most fundamental resources for teachers and students to achieve their potential.

Changes in the 2024/5 budgets mean that BHS will receive £50 less per pupil than originally forecast. This will squeeze a budget that is already tight.

Parents/guardians, teachers and friends of the school will attempt the 3 peaks challenge, hiking 23 miles (37 Km) with 3064m (10,052 ft) of climbing across England, Scotland and Wales.

This is a tough one to do in 24 hours so please give generously.