Scottish Catholic Observer

A group of 70 pupils, staff, friends and former classmates of Reamonn Gormley from John Ogilvie High School, Hamilton, climbed the UK’s highest mountain May 1 in tribute to their friend, who was killed earlier this year.

The Ben Nevis climb, marking the three-month anniversary of the 19-year-old’s death, also raised money for St Andrew’s Hospice, with particular poignancy being added to the occasion by the fact that Reamonn was the first pupil from the school to reach the summit of the mountain in a similar charity event for St Andrew’s two years ago, and was, himself, a keen fundraiser for the Airdrie hospice.

Tributes

The climbers all wore T-shirts—donated by Doonin Plant Hire—with a picture of Reamonn during his Ben Nevis climb in 2009, at which he was joined by friends, Stephen Tulley and Jennifer Teece, who were also among the 15 friends of Reamonn who joined current pupils and staff from John Ogilvie High for last Sunday’s climb.

Reammon Gormley was killed in an attack in his hometown of Blantyre at the beginning of February, an incident which brought great shock to the local community, and Eddie Morrison, John Ogilvie High School’s headteacher, said last Sunday’s climb was an ‘emotional day for all involved’ and ‘a privilege for us all to follow in Reamonn’s footsteps.’

“The school continues to mourn Reamonn’s passing but he also continues to be a source of inspiration to our school community and indeed to the wider community of Hamilton and Blantyre,” Mr Morrison said. “We will continue to keep his memory alive in many areas of school life.”

Challenge

Stephanie Ashbridge, an S6 pupil from John Ogilvie, spoke of her pride in taking part in the tribute for her former school friend. “The support we got was outstanding,” she said. “Credit to everyone who pulled together and taking part in support of Reamonn. It was something never to be forgotten.”

Shaun Rose, depute head boy at John Ogilvie, said all the climbers had a special reason for reaching the summit: “The challenge seemed endless, but Reamonn gave us the inspiration to get to the top.”

Hospice

Katie Mulgrew, director of fundraising for St Andrew’s, said her team were ‘overwhelmed’ to see the pupils wearing their T-shirts in tribute to Reamonn.

“These young men and women were full of enthusiasm and determined to climb, not only for the hospice, but to follow in the footsteps of Reamonn, who had climbed the mountain in 2009,” Ms Mulgrew said.

“It was very humbling to know that 15 pupils of the class of 2009 came back to join this year’s climb in memory of this fine young man, who had touched so many lives.”

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