On Friday 15 March, Queen Margaret’s in Escrick welcomed Rebecca Stephens to school to speak about her 
experiences as the first woman to ever summit Mount Everest and inspire girls to reach for their dreams.
(l-r: Jemima McCrystal (UVI), Rebecca Stephens, Lily Whitcombe (UVI), Alison Leadly, Head of Dance)
Stephens, the first British woman to ever attempt the climb, and the first woman of any nationality to reach the summit, told of her experience nearly 20 years ago and the challenges she faced.
After nearly being forced to turn back at the final camp due to bad weather, Stephens seized on a moment of clear skies to fulfil her dreams, and encouraged Queen Margaret’s girls to do the same.
Jemima, an UVI student, felt inspired after the lecture, saying: ‘It was interesting to hear a woman speak of her experience of breaking into what was a very male-dominated sport, and her modest and depreciative manner made her talk very relatable to all of us, despite her achievements being so colossal!
She really stressed that it doesn’t matter how big or small what you want to achieve is, what is important is how passionate you are because you can never excel at something if done half-heartedly.’
The lecture was especially interesting to girls participating in QM’s Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme as they are currently training for multi-day expeditions as part of their required demonstrations of qualifying skills.