On 20th June our Year 7 and 8 students set off to spend 3 glorious days team-building in the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside.
We stayed at the Wilderness Centre, owned by Dan Sturdy who is the son of our founder Jill, and a few of our more intrepid students camped in the grounds of the centre along with Mrs Cumiskey and Mrs Manning. As soon as we arrived and we had pitched our tents, students got stuck in to problem solving activities and the centre was filled with shrieks of laughter as teams tried to jump from one end of a field to another using only cardboard squares or pass a giant elastic band around a circle whilst holding hands. In the evening we went for a beautiful walk around the grounds and students were able to relax and watch a stunning sunset over the Malverns in the background and the River Severn in the foreground.
Day 2 was canoeing, archery, climbing and crating and everyone had great fun rafting or canoeing down the beautiful River Wye, stopping only to rescue a few canoes from trees and pay some rather wet and wobbly canoeing games. The only casualties were Mrs Corpas and Mrs Nicklin who managed to capsize their canoe within 2 minutes of pushing off, much to their amusement and the delight of the Year 7s watching! In the evening we all gathered around a wonderful camp fire to roast marshmallows and share our favourite moments before tumbling exhausted into bed. On Day 3, Friday, we managed to fit in a last activity before a picnic lunch in the grounds and a long but relaxing journey home.
Students unanimously declared they had a marvellous time and gave the trip 10 out of 10. Their main request was for the trip to last longer next time! All in all a very good sign indeed.
