New Challenge Course at Woodrow High House

What a fantastic couple of days it was at Woodrow for the volunteers from NBCUniversal on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th April 2014. Finally a new ‘challenge’ course has been created to enable London Youth to offer more activities to teenage young people who visit Woodrow, adding a more physical challenge to the range of sessions already available.

The Challenge Course was funded and built by 100 employees from NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies responsible for TV channels including Bravo, and E! as well as Universal Orlando Studios. A lot of preparation went into collating the necessary materials and equipment between Woodrow and a host of individual companies, which was quite a complicated task. All of the senior staff at Woodrow involved in the design, planning and organisation of this monumental event were definitely kept on their toes to ensure it all ran smoothly on the day!

Over the two days, the 100 strong volunteering team from NBCUniversal, together with London Youth staff from Woodrow High House and Pitfield Street completed the lion’s share of groundwork needed to make a long lasting and safe assault course. Whether it was digging away 115 square metres of topsoil, moving over 40 tonnes of soil to hide a new tunnel system, or constructing a new 70m fence line complete with two new gates, everyone worked tremendously hard to get the job done in time. The variable weather, incredibly sunny on Thursday and damp and rainy on the Friday, only served to bring all the volunteers together as they coped with all that the challenge course could throw at them. There’s nothing better than mud to create a sense of team spirit! Kathryn McKenzie, NBCUniversal’s liaison with Woodrow High House, said:

By the end of the two days, the whole area was prepared and ready for the final stage of completion, which will happen over the next month or two. It is fantastic to now walk down Woodrow’s drive and see a brand new activity area which will be used by young people in time for the summer and for many years to come. All the staff at Woodrow High House are very excited about this new opportunity, and we are extremely grateful for NBCUniversal’s assistance in making this possible!