Year 7 have started their school year with a trip to Wasdale – home to the highest mountain and deepest lake in England. In Year 7 we have a mixture of pupils who have moved up from our Junior School and students who are completely new to Windermere School and the trip is designed to forge friendships, build connections, and enhance teamwork through some challenging activities. Mr Rowe, Head of Lower School, also joined us so he could see all of Year 7 interacting outside the classroom and so they could get to know him better too.

All good adventurers are adaptable and the very wet weather on Thursday meant we could not do our planned activity. Instead, we had a great afternoon constructing shelters and lighting small fires in the woods near Wasdale Youth Hostel. The best part was testing the waterproofness of the shelters with a huge bucket of water. The teams must have done a good job because no-one got wet!

Friday dawned dry and sunny – what a difference a day makes. Our aim for the day was for everyone to reach the summit of Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England. Our Year 7s were brilliant at helping and encouraging each other up the steep and rocky paths to the top and everybody made it to the summit. A mountain day is a different sort of challenge and we were really pleased with how everyone approached the long trek uphill with a positive attitude. At the evening review students mentioned that it was their friends who helped them to keep going. Hopefully they have all realised that being a good friend and working as a team will help them achieve more throughout their school life and beyond.

On the final morning we went to Eskdale to learn how to jump into deep water safely. This activity is all about challenging yourself and pushing your own individual limits. We discussed the dangers of jumping into water and how to minimise those risks. The students then tried jumping from some smaller rocks, gradually increasing in size until they were able (if they chose) to jump from the high bridge itself. It was brilliant to see so many of them face their fears (and the cold water) and jump from the highest point.

Year 7 were great fun to be with for the three day trip and we are looking forward to a great year of Adventure with them!

Some quotes from Year 7 after Scafell Pike

Laurence: “I was surprised that I made it to the top of Scafell. I liked when I got back and I had a sense of achievement. I liked chatting to my friends.'”

Marco: “I liked being with my friends and meeting new people.”

Lukas: “I loved going up Scafell and I wasn’t sure if I would make it to the top. I liked jumping in the river and being with my friends.”

– Mr Platt, Mr Reedy and Mrs Roberts