Adventures galore!
From Monday 16th until Friday 20th May Upper II took part in a very adventurous residential visit to PGL Caythorpe Court. This is a large adventure centre in Lincolnshire and all in Upper II made the most of their time there! We have had some wonderful feedback from the centre, who praised our Upper II pupils for their alternative approaches to thinking, which helped them problem solve. Mrs Mackay, Deputy Head Pastoral for Juniors said, ‘All our pupils threw themselves into each and every activity. For example, in the survival skills task where they had to make shelters out of tarpaulin and wood, they not only built somewhere to rest but also built in elaborate security systems – which completely blew the instructor’s mind!’
Mrs Cattigan reports: ‘We arrived at PGL Caythorpe Court on the afternoon of Monday 16th May in glorious sunshine and were promptly shown to our accommodation. After the girls excitedly unpacked and made their beds, we enjoyed our dinner in the enormous dining hall, which was packed to the brim with eager school children chattering away.
After dinner, the girls were given the exciting news that our first evening activity would be the Giant Swing! We were so lucky to be able to do this in the beautiful Lincolnshire countryside as the sun began to set. Everyone worked together to pull on the ropes to ensure the ‘swing’ was raised as high as the girls were willing to go before the tranquil surroundings resonated with the sound of screams and shrieks of laughter!
During the rest of the week the girls enjoyed the Zip Wire, Abseiling, Climbing, Archery, Buggy Building, Orienteering and of course, one of the highlights, Canoeing! On Tuesday, the hottest day of the week, the girls were lucky enough to have a double session of Canoeing in one of the lakes on site. We learnt how to steer the canoe, paddle backwards, forwards and change direction before completing a series of challenges. The girls also experienced survival in the wilderness where they were taught how to whittle sticks to make camping pegs, make SOS signs using woodland resources only and light a fire with flint and steel.
Wearing a pair of blackout goggles, the girls completed the Sensory Trail in the woods, showing great faith and trust in their peers who took turns in guiding them over the many obstacles in the woods. Stairs, ramps and mazes were navigated carefully with much shouting of instructions from the leader! This was followed by the Trapeze, which involved a leap of faith from the top of a (wobbly) wooden pole onto a trapeze positioned just out of reach. The girls demonstrated bravery and resilience as they reached the top with true grit and determination. Our final activity on the Friday morning was the Vertical Challenge which every girl bravely attempted. This involved scaling a rope ladder, car tyres and netting to reach the top of the structure. Everyone encouraged their classmates by cheering loudly at every completed stage.
Finally, we departed PGL on Friday afternoon after another delicious lunch at PGL. The girls were all excited to see their families, but were sad to leave behind the wonderful adventures they experienced at Caythorpe Court.’
Mrs Lennox adds: ‘I can’t begin to tell you how proud I was of the girls! There was one particular task, the vertical climbing challenge that was especially difficult. Every single one of our brave, determined young women managed to pull themselves to the top of it! A proud teacher moment! It made my eyes tear up when I heard them chanting together with their team leader on the way to their tasks on Friday morning, and even more teary when I heard them sing the same chant on the bus home on Friday afternoon. They pulled together like champs; teamwork and resilience ruled at camp PGL last week!’
Categories: Junior Whole School