Year 6 Residential 2024

This year we visited Adventure Plus in Clanfield for our Year residential trip, after the success of our visit there last year. The first change we noticed was the newly completed toilet and shower block, which definitely improved our comfort levels!

Unfortunately our first day was beset with pretty terrible weather, but the activity leaders helped to lift our spirits by organising some fun team games and challenges in their indoor spaces. After lunch the activities began despite the rain, with groups doing bushcraft - building dens and making fires, archery, bike riding over obstacles, climbing and canoeing. The canoeing group faced a particularly big challenge, as the current on the river was quite strong, but they were lucky to get their turn on the river, as the water levels increased dramatically that evening and forced the Adventure Plus team to cancel further canoeing groups. After some warm showers to revitalise us, (especially the canoeists that capsized their boats!) we had dinner then spent the evening building defence structures before engaging in a dramatic sock war! Pleasingly for the adults on the trip, the day's activities clearly had worn out the children effectively, meaning everyone was tucked up in the bunks at a relatively civilised time with no middle of the night disturbances!

The second weather delivered us much improved weather, which certainly helped everyone's enjoyment of the outdoor activities. In place of the canoeing, the instructors gave fencing lessons alongside the other expected activities. The fencing was great fun, with the children all wearing full defensive gear and learning all the technical skills required to score points. After our evening meal, we all gathered for a campfire, with bizarre and hilarious songs and stories performed by the ever enthusiastic activity leaders. Another fun but exhausting day completed, the children were even quicker to bed and sleep.

Our final morning gave us the best weather of the trip, allowing us to spend the day completing a strenuous orienteering activity, followed by large scale team challenges in the afternoon. The children all tidied up their cabins and sweot them clean before loading onto the bus and making our way back to school.

We felt it was again a very successful trip, with the children demonstrating excellent behaviour and attitudes to the activities, taking part in everything even when it was a big challenge for them - a number of children attempting to ride bikes for the first time and pushing through a fear of heights to reach the top of the climbing wall. We're very proud of all of them and hope they enjoyed it as much as we did!