2023 Year 6 Residential: At one with Nature

Mrs Coombs’ Blog: It was an early alarm this morning, courtesy of the campsite cockerel, who crowed at 3.20am! The birds promptly leapt into action with a fabulous dawn chorus ringing around the shepherds huts. It’s a wonder that our weary campers remained asleep until 7am, but they all remained undisturbed by the sounds of the world around them!

Once up, our ravenous army marched into the breakfast tent ready to refuel for the day’s activities, demolishing every available morsel of cereal and toast. Everyone has taken on board how important it is to refuel and with this in mind the long awaited ‘tuck shop’ visit took place at 8.45am. It’s fair to say that some of our campers found it difficult to understand why spending £30 on sweets might not be a good idea, and a little ‘haul control’ was needed! The post-breakfast calorie boost stoked us all up ready for action, and our enthusiasm was undimmed by the sun choosing not to join us for today’s adventures.

Team work has been the theme of the day. Climbing, raft building, bridge building and initiative games to name but a few were taking place, and it was a pleasure to see the children motivating and supporting each other. Several children achieved far more than they initially thought possible – a vertical climbing wall today, but who knows, maybe Everest tomorrow!

One of the children has been absolutely determined that she would not be able to enter the water this week, but today with the kindness and support of the other children, leapt into waist-deep water to help build the bridge before trotting across it like a pro and grinning when splashed!

Natural leadership skills that perhaps shine more in this sort of environment than in the classroom are beginning to show themselves, and it is a privilege to watch children blossom and to see their team mates recognise their wisdom and their strengths.

Amongst the staff, I haven’t avoided getting thoroughly soaked in the river, although the children have been kinder to me than they were to Mr Groves! Mr Burrett escaped the water this morning only to be dunked again whilst bridge building this afternoon. There is an investigation underway into how the pirate knots ‘loosened’ and Mr Burrett ‘fell’ into the river…

A well deserved sausage roll and salad lunch stoked everyone for another rotation of fun including zip wires (varying amounts of woodchip ending up in everyone’s clothes) and camp fires this afternoon.

A settled calm has descended today, Team St Faith’s is at one with its surroundings and we are preserving the little time we have left to enjoy this magical setting amongst our friends. As one of the children commented today; ‘I just want this week to last as long as it can.’