Gateshead school fined after one boy slips and another goes missing during mountain trek in Lakes

A school has been fined after a teenage boy slipped and another went missing during a trek in the Lake District.

Pupils from Gateshead Cheder, an all boys Orthodox Jewish school, were taken on a 6.5 mile hike up Helvellyn, in early March, despite a weather warning of ice and the need for safety equipment.

A court heard that some of the children were wearing just their school shoes or trainers and school trousers or tracksuits for the trek up the mountain, which is 950m high.

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They also had no climbing equipment, such as crampons, ropes or ice axes, and no emergency safety equipment such as torches, compasses, other than on a mobile phone, biffy bags, tents or foil blankets.

Newcastle Magistrates’ Court was told that the group were supervised by two rabbis, one a teacher and one a teaching assistant, who were both unqualified in mountaineering or outdoor activities.

As they descended the mountain, the group veered off the path, which was obscured by snow, and one boy slipped and fell 15m, while another ran off on his own.

Mountain Rescue and a helicopter had to be called out to bring the group to safety and locate the runaway pupil, who was missing for more than an hour.

Now, the school has been fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £4,547 in costs after it pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

District Judge Zoe Passfield said: “There was a group of children inappropriately dressed, without safety equipment, trekking above the snowline, being led by staff without proper training, with limited daylight due to a late start against a backdrop of a warning of serious consequences from a Weatherline report.

“There can be no question that there was a risk of death caused by slipping, falling from height or hypothermia.

“There was a serious failing by the school to properly assess the risk for its pupils and to ensure their safety.”

The court was told that the group of pupils were taken on the school trip on March 5, 2020.

Two rabbis, both without formal qualifications in outdoor activities, supervised the trek and a risk assessment was carried out.

However, that assessment was not properly implemented.

Lee Hughes, prosecuting, said the Weatherline website, which is a daily weather forecast made by fell top assessors for the Lake District, was checked the day before but a warning was ignored.

That warning said that there were winter conditions on the mountain and climbing clothing and equipment were “essential for those going above the snowline” on all routes, including the easier one, which the group took.

It added: “As a result, a slip without means to stop yourself could have serious consequences. The snow obscuring landmarks combined with a low cloud requires excellent navigational skills.”

Mr Hughes said some of the children were wearing just their school shoes or trainers and their school trousers or tracksuit bottoms.

The only safety equipment they had were compasses and a torch on the rabbis’ mobile phones and a map.

Mr Hughes said the group started their climb an hour later than planned and bumped into two walkers who warned them not to go any further but this too was ignored and the pair were dismissed as “elderly men having a difficult time”.

They group reached the summit at around 4pm then began their descent

The prosecutor added: “During the descent, they lost sight of the path, which was obscured by snow, but continued anyway.

“They discussed going back up to find the path but there was concern they would run out of daylight.

“They decided to proceed as the could see landmarks they recognized and, during this, the pupil slipped.”

The court heard that, at 5.30pm, Keswick Mountain Rescue Team were notified of the incident and that a boy had ran off and was missing.

The team, including a helicopter and dogs, were deployed and the group and the boy were located just over and hour later.

Mr Hughes said: “By this time, the temperature was below zero and the group were 200m above the snowline.

“The team arranged to get the group down safely and they cut steps in the ground for the boys to walk.

“They brought each boy to safety individually. That took about 20 to 30 minutes.”

Mr Hughes added: “The risk of accident was entirely foreseeable and there were measures that could have been taken to avoid it.”

The court was told that the school felt the “easier route” taken by the group was more of a walk and not a mountaineering exercise.

They also informed the boys to wear appropriate footwear and clothes but didn’t tell their parents.

Peter Smith, defending, said: “The director wishes to say in open court that they are deeply sorry for what took place on March 5 and especially in relation to the injuries sustained by one of their Year 10 pupils.

“Thankfully, he was back in school the next day.”

Mr Smith added: “This is not a case where they had not sought to address the risk. This is an occasion where some planning had taken place.

“There is a risk assessment carried out but it was poorly implemented.”

The court heard that Gateshead Cheder Limited had no past convictions and had co-operated with the Health and Safety investigation.

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