34 of our Year 9 and 10 students travelled to Castle Head in Cumbria this week where they undertook a range of outdoor activities including bush craft, rivers fieldwork, raft making, hiking and camping.

This residential trip had a strong focus on team building exercises whilst gaining a fantastic outdoor experience of our Physical UK landscape.

The itinerary of the trip was as follows:

Investigating Rivers: During this full day session, students investigated the River Eea from its source in the Lake District National Park to its mouth at Morecambe Bay. Working in small groups, students made measurements of the river features and all data was recorded. The students also discussed the surrounding land use and management of the river and had the opportunity to produce field sketches and examine the impact of a river on its surroundings.

Raft Building: Rafting has a long-standing tradition at Castle Head. Students were supplied with a selection of 45-gallon drums, wooden spars and ropes for lashing and after a discussion on buoyancy, stability and steering, the group then set about building a raft to their own design. This activity took strong teamwork and the success of the raft depended on the whole team’s ability to work together.

Obstacle Course: Based in the woods in the centre grounds the obstacle course consists of a series of challenges of varying degrees of difficulty. This was a timed event for either teams or individuals to complete the challenge. It was combined with a series of problem-solving exercises and/or the Low Ropes Course giving a structured progression of teambuilding tasks and individual challenges. The obstacle course consisted of tunnels, balance beams and cargo nets.

Camp (night): The students experienced a fun, albeit a bit wet, night camping out whilst staying within the centre grounds. 

Mad Dog Challenge (night): These critical thinking outdoor night-time activities were designed to encourage the students to work together to build trust and communication so the obstacles and tasks could be navigated and completed whilst working as part of a team.

It was great to see the students getting involved in activities that were new to many of them - well done to everyone and many thanks to the team of staff who facilitated the trip.