Billie was taken aback to see his two classmates, both with disabilities, getting stuck in at the outdoor pursuits centre. “I didn’t think I would ever see Jack and Nathaniel on a climbing wall,” he said. It was a sincere and youthful expression of admiration that captures the essence of the Calvert Trust in Keswick, an organisation which specialises in offering both challenge and adventure for people of all ages with disabilities.

In the words of John Crosbie, Calvert’s director at Kewsick: “We believe that no disability should exclude anyone from the enjoyment and fulfilment that should be present in the lives of all individuals.”

That sense of triumphant achievement was so clearly the case with both Jack and Nathaniel who were united in their praise: “Brilliant! Fantastic! Astonishing! We’re really glad we came. We have done so many things this week that we had never done before.” Their joy also reflected on the face of every child and the accompanying staff from their school.

Calvert Trust, Keswick, opened in 1978, the first centre of its kind to offer full outdoor activities to people with disabilities. In those early days it operated on a very small scale: room for 18 people self-catering. Today, it has 35 permanent staff plus 30 volunteers, 11 horses, 8 dinghies, a safety boat, 25 canoes, an indoor pool and a riding school and offers full board and accommodation to 3,000 people every year. Of the 100 plus groups that visited in 2001, at least 35 per cent were from special schools. The trust now operates two other centres at Kielder, Northumberland, and Exmoor.

As Mr Crosbie points out, while the benefits of outdoor education are clearly acknowledged, the educational justification for such activities is equally true for students with special needs. Students with disability, be it physical, mental or sensory, have a right of access to outdoor activities and any associated residential experience. The programmes available at Keswick are negotiated with the school or organisation before they arrive. “We want them to get out of their stay what they want to get out of it,” Crosbie explains. “We discuss their aims and objectives with them and then we try to deliver.”

Billie, Jack and Nathaniel are pupils at Pennyman primary school in Middlesborough. It opened in 1995: an amalgamation of a primary school and a special school that catered for pupils with physical disabilities. Today it has 330 mainstream pupils and 50 disabled. Not surprisingly it places great emphasis upon integration. The Pennyman party was accompanied by four teachers, four auxiliaries and three physiotherapy staff. Alison Kerr, the headteacher, explained that the school is in an education action zone where there is 47 per cent unemployment. Many of the youngsters have never been away from home before.

“The Calvert Trust provides a unique opportunity for youngsters from an urban environment to continue to work together and respond to an entirely new set of challenges,” she says. Teacher and group leader Pam Turnbull shares Ms Kerr’s belief that “the totally inclusive philosophy of the school not only benefits those with a physical disability, but also the other youngsters working alongside them”. There was certainly ample opportunity during their visit to observe this integration and support in action. All the pupils, including the 20 with varying degrees of physical disability, accepted a wide variety of challenges: horseriding, archery, canoeing, orienteering, the assault course and, of course, the climbing wall. Clearly, much of the success of Calvert’s work lies in the quality of the staff. As Mr Crosbie explains: “Even if you take somebody into your team who is reasonably well qualified in delivering the outdoor activities, it still takes us one to two years to get that person completely familiar with the range of disabilities that we experience among our guests.” He was quick to add: “Being a charity no one works for us for the money - they work for personal rather than financial reward.” That enjoyment was apparent throughout the day. One could not fail to be impressed by the care and support that they demonstrated for the individual child, while ensuring that each was being challenged to the limit of their ability. When it came to the rope bridge on the assault course, every single pupil (and member of staff) was able to cross it. The major obstacle to such achievement, says Mr Crosbie, is often not the physical, mental or sensory impairment of the child, but rather an “overprotection by adults” and “parental concern”.

As we left the centre, idyllically located overlooking the eastern shore of Bassenthwaite Lake, we were in no doubt that those who worked there were true to its philosophy: “It is not what you cannot do but what you can do that counts.”

Jim Smith was headteacher of Allertonshire school, Northallerton until he retired in 1999.Further information: Calvert Trust, Little Crosthwaite, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 4QH 017687 72254; www.calvert-trust.org.ukkeswick calvert.keswick@dial.pipex.comPreliminary visits can be arranged and discussions regarding course content or programme are welcome. A video about the centre is also available.