Bonita Norris, the youngest British woman to climb Mount Everest, inspired a generation of pupils at Bearwood College last Saturday (28th May 2011) when she appeared at Guest Speaker at the school’s annual Speech Day and Prize Giving.
The 23-year old from Barkham Road scaled the highest mountain on earth last May as part of a team who completed the journey to the 8,848 metre high summit in six days.
In April Miss Norris undertook a trek across the North Pole raising money to add to the £13,000 she has already raised from her Everest adventure, through her sponsors VocaLink and Mobile Phone Top-Up at ATM, for the charity Global Angels.
This winter she is joining an all female team in a record-breaking attempt to ski across Antarctica to the South Pole; their arrival in January 2012 planned to co-incide with the centenary of the South Pole first being reached.
The former Holt schoolgirl is also the face of the Nissan Jute.
The intrepid explorer was inspired by Ellen MacArthur whilst at school and now tours the country herself visiting schools, corporations and charities hoping to inspire others to get out and try adventurous outdoor activities themselves. When she is not climbing or trekking in hostile climates, Bonita keeps up her fitness by trail running, cycling and rock climbing.
She works as a disability assistant and is described on her website as “an average girl who took on a big challenge, and didn't give up on a seemingly impossible goal”. Bonita’s positive attitude and determination in the face of adversity are attributes that Bearwood’s broad extra-curricular programme aims to develop in all their pupils.