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Church of England Junior School

Y6 Residential: Calshot

Read on to find out what our year 6 children have been up to at Calshot Activity centre this week.

MONDAY:

We all arrived safely and were greeted by sunshine and a calm sea. Beautiful Calshot! After our initial orientation around the sight, the children were excited to move into their rooms and prepare for the day ahead. The children experienced a range of activities on their first day and  were pleased to eat the excellent food provided in the canteen. Evening activities awaited them, and the children were very much looking forward to an evening's rest - everyone settled down quickly and quietly in their comfortable beds. Our first day was a great success!

TUESDAY:

Slightly chillier and windier weather to wake up to. The children had the interesting experience of witnessing enormous container shops arriving at Southampton docks whilst eating their breakfast. A whole host of tremendous activities were pursued today; for example, kayaking, skiing and trawling (who knew that Southampton water had flatfish, spider crabs and sea lettuce?). Indoors, the ski slope was conquered and the mountain wall was climbed. A lot of the children sat down with their popcorn to enjoy a film and enjoyed the delights of Big Hero 6. Our intrepid explorers returned from the wilds of the New Forest to conquer the ski slopes once more - this time on rubber rings! A second evening approached and the tired children were actually excited to have a good night's sleep.

WEDNESDAY:

Our introduction to the unpredictable weather of the South coast! Wind and rain battered our houses, though all of the groups braved the conditions and persevered with their morning activities. The raft building and low ropes activities were particularly challenging and the children had to kit themselves in multiple layers to keep warm. For the trawlers it was worth the extra challenge as they managed to catch a dogfish and a jellyfish - thankfully the canteen stocked more delectable fare! In contrast, there were a number of indoor activities the children could enjoy. Many of the children tried their hands at archery and they left the instructors impressed. Behaviour of the children has been particularly impressive this week - Calshot staff have noted how respectful, hard-working and charming the children have been and all of the St. Mary's staff agree! Hopefully the weather will improve for tomorrow.

THURSDAY

Day four. The wind sock outside Calshot centre was blowing hard when the children awoke this morning. Undeterred, they ventured out for breakfast and their morning activities. Many groups sallied forth towards Sopwith Hangar today to experience the watery delights of Raft Building and Kayaking. Combing feverous teamwork, fierce competition and very cold water led to fun throughout the day and some extremely wet children - the faces of those children that required hosing down in their wetsuits was a sight to see (don't worry, there is photographic evidence)! As day turned to night, our group enjoyed their final dinner and, with some sadness, went to experience their final evening activity. Eggs were dropped from great heights in the Egg Drop and an eclectic mix of games were enjoyed in the Games Evening. When finished, the children returned to their dormitories for their the last slumber at Calshot; behaviour was exemplary once more. Overall, Calshot was a resounding success!