Day 1

After a fairly uneventful drive, all arrived safe and sound.  The bus was a bit noisy, but that's what happens when you get two schools together.

Activities this afternoon were Stream Scrambling (Group F - Mr C), Abseiling (Group D - Mrs Womble), Zip Lining (Group E - Miss Blacklock).

Stream Scrambling

BRRRRRRRRRRRR.  Well, that's what I thought.  The children were of a completely different opinion.  Some of them even decided that they would use it as a bit of spa day and have a relaxing soak under the waterfall.

Big shout-outs to Lily, Mia and Ozzy - really good leadership skills and lots of caring attitude towards each other.

Quote of the day goes to Cole:

Me:  All all right Cole?

Cole:  I'm no gonna lie Mr C; I'm a bit frazzled.

Abseiling

All rather splendid.  Lots of brave individuals, going down in pairs, tandem and solo.  Again, lots of superb encouragement, teamwork and the right attitude to get things done.

Mrs Womble cannot pick anyone in particular 'None of them wanted to do it; they all gave it a go though'.  

Zip Line and Ropes

All did it with lots of encouragement.  Working together is key to this as the zip line won't get back to the top on it's own!

Shout out to Lola.  To be honest, she didn't enjoy it, but gave it a go and overcame her fears to push herself.

Night Walk

The reservoir is a lot longer than it looks on the map!  Miss Blacklock and Mrs Womble teamed up (apparently it's better to get lost together), whereas the Mighty Group F headed out alone.

Group F managed the clockwise walk without any falls, trips, slips or embarrassing tumbles.  Not 100% sure if the same could be said for the other group...

Bedtime

It's 22.49 and it *seems* quiet.  Miss Blacklock and Mrs Womble are heading off and I get the lovely task of locking up and lights out.

Fingers crossed for a good night's sleep - for EVERYONE!!

Photos

All photos are taken with the best of intentions.  We have old cameras, wobbly hands and take photos when we can.

We are sorry if they are wonky, blurred and don’t quite capture the moment perfectly.  We are also sorry if your child isn’t on as many as you would like.  We cannot be everywhere at once, and taking photos comes a distance second to making sure the children are safe.

We really are doing our best.

Day 2

The day started with lovely bright sunshine, a bracing breeze and promise of a great day. HAHAHAHAHA.  By 11am we'd have horizontal hailstones!  Oh well, onwards and upwards.

Group D

Indoor climbing wall to build confidence for the leap of faith.  Excellent teamwork. 

Leap of Faith - The children were a little grumpy during this, mainly due to the weather.  Lots of teamwork to help those less willing to have a go.

Stream Scrambling.  Once the initial 'by crikey that's cold'.  They all pitched in, gave it their all and managed to get to the end waterfall for a refreshing bath.  For the record Miss Blacklock fell over again.  This was followed by a number of sympathetic falls from the children to cover for her - bless 'em.

Group E

Stream Scrambling.  Charlie led the way, a natural leader seems to be coming to the surface.  Everyone helped each other and this included cheering those that might have lagged behind over the tricky terrain.  The waterfall proved an excellent end to the walk.  really pleasing to see the children enjoy a bath.

Climbing Wall - Indoor climb for the children.  Again, lots of encouragement, especially for ones that had low confidence, low ability or low muscle-power given the fact that this happened AFTER the stream scramble!

Group F

Mountain Biking.  All the children had a go on the bikes, with some managing to access the higher course and 'complete' the set of routes.  A couple of injuries to two of the bikers.  They have been formally welcomed to the bikers club - injuries being the only qualifying criteria.  The hailstones put a real 'mountain' feel to the bikes, but never mind. eh?

Abseiling.  A short indoor session to get then used to harnesses, and then off to Monsal Bridge for a quick dangle!  I cannot be more proud of ALL of my group for the way in which they approached this.  We had the whole range of confidences from the 'Yeah, I'll chuck myself off' to the 'I choose not to'.  I have a massive respect to the children who decided not to do the session, but encouraged everyone else and was a real part of the team.

Tonight's combined activity was 'Woods Have Eyes'.  Both schools had a pupils vs teachers activity.  Obviously, the children were the deserved victors and the staff did not give them any help whatsoever ;-)

Stars of the day today:

Group D:  Miss Blacklock couldn't  pick just one.  Over the course of the day, all of the children shone and stepped up to the mark.

Group E:  Charlie's name got mentioned an awful lot for being a leader and Olivia kept Mrs Womble good company at the the back of the stream scramble line.

Group F:  Maddison.  Conquering her fears after lots of tears!

Leyton:  Seems to have been born in a bike saddle.  Excellent control and confidence.

Day 3

Group D (Miss Blacklock's Group) have been on a fun-filled Adventure Day, rock climbing and lots of walking.

Group E (Mrs Womble's Group) have been caving this morning and zip line and leap of faith this afternoon. Big shout out to Bella and Ruby who were both scared to go caving but managed to go in and try some of the tighter spaces too! All the children went on the zip line and faced their fears on the leap of faith.

Group F (Mr C's group) did the zip line and leap of faith this morning and went caving in the afternoon.

The children in Group F were amazing this morning.  Loads of trust, support and effort on the zip-wire.  So much so, that I got carried away and was persuaded to have a go.  

Leap of Faith took this bravery even further the idea of climbing 20ft onto a wooden platform bolted to a tree and then jumping off isn't everyone's cup of tea, but Group F were on it!  There are some brill photo's too.

Caving finished off my involvement on the trip.  Who knew that we had so many lead miners in the group!  Andy, the instructor, was astonished at the amount of lead the children found down the mine.  We had thought of leaving them there and using them for some good old-fashioned child-labour, but we decided the paperwork was not worth the pay-off, and we brought them back out again.

More information to follow on Group D!

As a parting thought:

I have been so proud of the Y6's during the days I was there.  They have conducted themselves with dignity, respect, pride and demonstrated the values we want, and expect, as a school.  This has been done in the face of some tough challenges -both internal and external - and have come out the other side being better, nicer and braver children.

Thank you and well done.

Day 4

A cold and breezy day with some spells of blue sky!

Group D went mountain biking this morning and abseiling this afternoon. All the children were confident on the bikes and managed the bike track. Most children managed the abseil. A big shout out to Ella and Jake for encouraging and supporting their team mates during the abseil.

Group E went on their adventure day to the Roaches! Lots of fresh air, bouldering, rock scrambling and incredible views! Big shout out to all the children for their perseverance and resilience on a challenging, tiring and fun day!

Group F went on their adventure day to the Roaches! Lots of fresh air, rock scrambling and a high rock climb! It was great to see Group E partway through the day! Big shout out to Oliver who had a great day, supporting his team and Cole who faced his fears!

Group F Videos

Day 5

Day 5 (final morning!)

A chaotic start to the morning with the children stripping their beds, packing their suitcases ready for home and checking that they have remembered everything that they have brought with them!

After our final breakfast together, Group D went caving with Mrs Womble, Group E went mountain biking and orienteering and Group F went on the indoor climbing wall.

Group D were amazing in the caves and explored high and low, working together as a team for one final time! A big shout out to Connor who managed to face his fears and went into a small gap in the cave even though he was terrified!

Group E listened well and really impressed their instructor Sam with their biking skills and abilities! Some great orienteering, working in teams of 3 to complete various challenges.

Group F pushed themselves physically on the climbing wall, playing the games challenges then finding different ways to climb up the climbing wall, increasing in difficulty. 

A fantastic week in Whitehall and a pleasure to have shared this experience with your children. The children are a credit to you and the school. Mrs Womble