Young Climbers
How To Balance
Climbing and College
Photo: Molly Thompson-Smith,
by Alex Messenger / BMC
Struggling to keep on top of
work, and find time for climbing? At times
of A levels or GCSEs and mountains of
coursework, getting some climbing done
can seem impossible. Even during half
term or Christmas break, you’re told to
spend every minute revising for important
mock exams. But it’s not impossible. It’s
just a matter of being time efficient.
If you can’t find time to climb
at school, then why not bring school to
climbing? With the amount of indoor
climbing walls around, you may be able
to persuade your school or college to set
up a climbing club. Some schools even
include climbing in their PE lessons and
run schemes such as NICAS. This way
you get some climbs done during school
time, meaning - if anything - you’ve
actually saved time. During her GCSEs,
climbing champion Molly Thompson-Smith said: “I revised for my GCSEs
at the climbing wall”, but she still takes
schoolwork very seriously. Although,
compared to climbing competitively as
the captain of team GB, Molly says: “I am
more relaxed about exams than about
climbing”.
Although this may seem painful
to those hardcore climbers out there, but
at times of exams especially, you may
have to sacrifice climbing outdoors and
stick to plastic for a few weeks. But you
shouldn’t see this as a bad thing. Instead
of being deprived of the outdoors, look
at it as some time to get some serious
training done. That way, you’ll be fresh
and raring to go once your exams are
finished.
Everyone needs a break now
and then, and what better way to distract
your mind from exams, than throwing
yourself about on a wall? It’s always good
to have at least one day a week when
you can take a break from revision, and
dedicate to climbing. Just like you can
over train yourself in climbing, it’s also
good not to overload yourself with college
work. While climbing, you can become so
focused on the route; everyday problems
seem to disappear - almost. Climbing
clears your mind but still keeps you busy.
Not to mention the positive effects it can
have on your brain. Physical activity is
always more beneficial to your mind than
just cramming it full of information. You
can literally use climbing to train your
brain; surely that’s got to help with revision.
So, just because you’re at school, or college, or even university, there’s always a
way to fit in some climbing now and then.
Anyone will tell you that consuming yourself in revision 24/7 is never good for you.
And who says homework has to be more
important than climbing? After all, exams
don’t last forever. But climbing is a hobby
most people stick with their whole lives.
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