"success at all levels" OFSTED

Our New Year 7 Settle In

Adventure Days for New Year 7

On the 28th and 29th of September Year 7 student, as part of  our plan to help them settle into the school, took part in a team building day at Adventure Dolphin, Beale Park, Pangbourne. As part of the one day adventure they all took part in a range of activities.

Orienteering – This involved  searching the outside area for codes and working in teams to ensure they beat their peers, proving themselves the best orienteering team.

Kayaking – Students learnt skills independently on the River Thames. Safety skills on the water were top of the list and confidence building exercises to help with how to turn, paddle and stop. Soon all students were navigating around the skills course and taking part in a number of games on the water.

Canoeing – This activity was based on the River Thames and focused on teams of three student working together to move around the water. The objective was to get the football (red boats v green boats). Student enjoyed working in their teams, building up good communication skills to ensure effective progress. 

One of the highlights, as described by Mr Holbrook, Head of Year 7;

Students then sang a song in the middle of the water standing up and switching positions. This required a lot of trust especially from me! With 30 small Year 7’s holding the boat together for me to cross left me feeling a little scared!

Team building – Groups worked together to solve problems involving a spiders web, a task with tennis balls and team game where they had to move from one side of the field to the other as a team of 5.

Overall these were extremely enjoyable days, with the added bonus, that allowed the students to mix and meet others from their year group, gain key skills and learn to work in teams.