LEADERS of a council facing a £1.6m shortfall over its much-loved outdoor education centres due to the pandemic have ruled out mothballing the service and instead will seek to enhance and protect it.
North Yorkshire County Council’s executive approved an in-depth review of its centres at Bewerley Park, Pateley Bridge, and at East Barnby, near Whitby, after hearing glowing accounts from teachers about the huge beneficial impact school residential visits had on tens of thousands of children.
Teacher Ian Bloor, of Eskdale School in Whitby, described the centres where children take part in adventurous activities such as archery and abseiling, as the “jewel in the crown of the North Yorkshire education service”.