Year 8 – Adventure

2 December 2020

The Adventure lesson on Tuesday 1 December began at 13:00 with Mr Platt speaking on Teams to the Year 8 students who were isolating abroad, or at home. A mixture of work was set to produce a short film thinking about Adventure this past year, but focusing on what each student was looking forward to, once restrictions ease. Those in the UK being encouraged to think while out for a walk or cycle. Quizzes had also been set with Forms to improve sailing knowledge for the Spring term.

 

We had two boarders in School and Mr Cooke took Kieran and Natasha to Hodge Howe. It was a cold, but beautifully calm day on the lake. Skills to develop handling a canoe were taught by Mr Cooke. He is a fantastic asset to the Outdoor Team and it is lovely to have a teacher see the students in a different environment.

 

Mrs Roberts and I took 18 students to Orrest Head to use the wonderfully detailed orienteering map of the hill, where earlier in the day we had put out a 14 point score course. The briefing given before we left School was to focus the students on route choice; how can all 14 markers be found with the minimum amount of retracing of steps, as little height gain as possible and speed. A safety briefing was given that included boundaries and sticking together and then we let them loose. These skills of confidence, tenacity and resilience are vital when students have to work independently. Mrs Roberts and I were there if things went wrong, but not holding hands. All nine teams returned within five minutes of the deadline (before dark) and the photos show the winning pair running in, and collapsing exhausted. But importantly all the teams tried their best.

 

Mr Paul Platt, Head of Outdoor Learning