A Small Test. A Big Realisation

29 April 2026

By: Shahab Mossavat – Comms Adviser and Compass Coordinator, Gapuma Group

Almost a week on from our Outward Bound adventure with twenty-three Year 8 and 9 pupils from West London Free School in Snowdonia, I sat down and tried to recall every one of the eleven youngsters in my group.

I could. And I’d wager Stephen Harris, Gapuma’s ambassador to the other twelve, could do exactly the same.

That may sound like a modest achievement. But in my experience, it is a reliable indicator of something deeper – that what happened at Ogwen Cottage last week was not merely a school trip. It was, for all of us, a genuinely transformative experience. A lifetime memory. I hope it proves the same for every one of those young people.

The evidence suggests it will. Research consistently shows that outdoor adventure education produces lasting improvements in confidence, resilience and the belief that difficulty can be overcome. Those qualities don’t evaporate on the train back to London.

But at Gapuma, we want to do more than show up once a year for an adventure and then disappear. That isn’t a relationship – it’s a visit.

Which is why I’m pleased to share that we are moving forward with our Compass Scheme in partnership with West London Free School. Building on the school’s existing outdoor education culture – both through its annual Outward Bound programme, which Gapuma sponsors, and its Duke of Edinburgh cohort – Compass is designed to create genuine apprenticeship opportunities for their outdoor learning graduates.

The aim is simple: to take young people who have already shown courage, commitment and resilience in the mountains, and give them a pathway into professional life that recognises and builds on exactly those qualities.

This is what meaningful corporate partnership looks like – not a cheque and a logo, but a long-term investment in young people who have already proved they are worth investing in.

Watch this space.