Polar journey of a lifetime

Year 8 talk on Antarctica by Paul Mattin

On Wednesday the 11th January, Mr Mattin gave us an interesting and thought provoking talk on his trip to Antarctica. He was an ex-Royal Marine who had gone with three other Royal Marines and skied to the South Pole. He brought back some snow from the very place where Scott and his men are most famously shown (in the form of water). Mr Mattin also had the last of his rations and most of his equipment, which we were allowed to look at and ask questions on after the talk. They had skied to the pole, and then spent a few days there before wind skiing back to their ice-shelf. He said “it was the journey of a lifetime”, and shows that we shouldn’t give up on our dreams. All of the Fourth Form are very grateful to him for coming in and sharing his experience.

We would like to give a very big thank you to Mr Mattin for giving up his time to come to Exeter School and talk to the Fourth Form about his experience in the Antarctic. It was very convenient as we are learning about this amazing continent in our Geography lessons at the moment and are enjoying the subject enormously. Mr Mattin told us of the difficulties he faced during the 68 days of his trek, such as the treacherous conditions, a narrow escape from frostbite, the lack of food and resources due to a tight weight limit, and the physical challenge. Mr Mattin explained how every step had been a struggle with winds reaching incredibly high levels.
So, thank you once again to all of the staff who arranged this and to Mr Mattin, who kindly gave up his time to come and talk to us.