Travelling a kilometre for every year of The Armidale School's history, next month hundreds of students, past and present, as well as staff and parents will celebrate a special birthday with a 125 kilometre adventure.
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Outdoor education has long been a hallmark of TAS, which has the third oldest cadet unit in the country and was the first school in NSW to introduce surf life saving and rural firefighting into its non-academic curriculum as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
In the spirit of expeditions held in 1959, to mark the school's 65th birthday, for the centenary in 1994, and several crossings of the Kokoda Track, the three-day TAS 125 Trek will take in the natural splendour of New England on bike and on foot, starting and finishing at TAS.
"The trek is more about bringing our community together in a way that says a lot about who we are as a school, than it is an endurance event," TAS' coordinator of Challenge and Service, Jim Pennington said.
"A lot of what we do at TAS is about building courage, conviction and compassion.
"These are traits which are increasingly valuable for our young people to prepare them for the challenges of the world.
"Thanks to the generosity of private landholders and public agencies, the route will take us through some lovely country that people otherwise wouldn't get to see.
"Mindful of the challenges so many are facing with the drought, there will be no cost.
"We hope that our farming families might be able to participate for part or all of the trek - just to give them a break from the difficulties they are facing everyday."
- Visit: www.as.edu.au
