Today, groups of Year 11 students had the incredible opportunity to hear from Akke Rahman, a mountaineer who grew up in Oldham and the first British Muslim to conquer Mount Everest in 2022.
Akke’s mountaineering journey began in 2019 with Mount Snowdon, and by October 2020, he had already set a UK record by summiting Mount Elbrus in under 24 hours. Since then, he has taken on some of the world’s toughest peaks, including Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro (twice), Elbrus again, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Kanchenjunga, and Everest, where he has reached the summit twice.
Despite facing extreme challenges during his many climbs, including a dangerous fall from Everest, testing positive for COVID, visa expiries, and even needing to be rescued by helicopter, he never gave up. Instead, he came back stronger each time, showing TRS students just what can be achieved through hard work, focus, and an unbreakable mindset.
His 2022 Everest summit was particularly extraordinary, completing the climb in just 21 days while fasting for Ramadan and raising over $100,000 for ‘Peak Humanity’.
Today’s visit to The Radclyffe School was more than just a talk. It was a powerful lesson in resilience, ambition, and perseverance.
Akke spoke about the importance of celebrating success but always remaining humble. His message was clear: failure is not the end; it’s just another step in the journey.
Hearing first-hand about his setbacks, and how they didn’t stop him, gave our students a real-life example of how to overcome challenges and push towards their goals, whether in their studies, future careers, or personal ambitions.
Students were captivated by his experiences, with many staying behind after the session to speak with him one-on-one.
Though their paths may be vastly different, our Year 11 students can all take valuable lessons from his journey: set ambitious goals, work hard, embrace challenges, and never give up.
Maybe some of them will even catch the climbing bug and share their own success with us in the future!
A huge thank you to Akke for taking the time out of his busy schedule to visit TRS today. We truly appreciated hearing his inspiring story and wish him every success for his future climbing plans.
