This group go to bed so well! Last year on Y5 residential they took themselves to bed. This year, we went out to tell them ‘lights out’ and all three lodges were already dark and quiet! They didn’t get up ridiculously early either. (Compared to tents, it remains dark inside when the sun rises.)
Each group has done two activities today. All the groups have tried their best and have been very supportive of one another. Conditions allowed us to do some canoeing on Scar House Reservoir today which was a bonus! We did have some bad news though.
Group 1: Gorge scrambling am, caving pm
This group started with the gorge scramble and everyone did amazingly climbing up and down the waterfalls. Tom – our instructor – named Zach the ‘MVP’ and Mrs Hawkhead nominated Kiran for the bravery award. Both children overcame their nervousness today and Kiran even jumped into the gorge to swim (she was scared of water this morning!). 5 out of the group abseiled depending on how warm they felt – there were some blue fingers and toes by the end of the session!
More photos and videos of Group 1 gorge scrambling are here.
In the afternoon this group went caving. There was some serious trepidation and a few phobias to address. Everyone did two caves and most did a third. They were very supportive of each other and brave. Ali-Ahmed and Saad in particular were excellent examples of Farfield children.
There are a few more caving photos here.
Group 2: Canoeing am, Abseiling and (a little bit of) gorge scrambling pm
The canoeing was very successful. Some children – mainly Kieran and Theo – canoed independently whilst others were lashed together. It was quite windy so it was a real challenge. We canoed up wind and then across the reservoir. Towards the end, we lashed the 4 canoes together to make ‘mega-raft’.
More photos and short videos of the Group 2 canoeing are here.
In the afternoon, everyone did bravely abseil down into the gorge, including Charlotte who was literally shaking with fear. This is a confident, resilient group.
Sadly, we had a very early problem as Aliza face-planted with one of her first steps down in the gorge. She suffered a significant gash to the eyebrow and was winched out. She has been glued at Harrogate A&E and has gone home – much to her disappointment. The other children were unavoidably waiting around whilst all this happened and got a bit cold, and Mr Harris had also got out to be with Aliza, so the gorge scrambling was cut short. Such a shame but couldn’t be helped. Aliza was very brave.
There are some more photos and videos here, including Charlotte’s very slow descent.
Group 3: Via Ferrata in the morning and canoeing in the afternoon
In the morning, this group did Via Ferrata. There were a lot of midges! Children challenged themselves and some got to the zip wire at the end. Seren was born to climb and sprung over the gorge with ease. Mrs Dobkin was particularly impressed by Samiya who was incredibly nervous climbing over the beam onto the gorge but, with some encouragement, managed to complete the whole course. 6 children managed the zip line – Sam finally got his ‘zoomies’!
Mrs Hawkhead took the children canoeing and said that they had a super session. The children worked hard, sang songs and made up stories and games as they canoed. They think they rescued Seren’s canoe. Mrs Hawkhead said it was a delight to be with them (although a little crazy!). Captain Zakariya took control of the ‘reprobates and scallywags’ and encouraged the children to fight megalodons and heave-ho together. He’s definitely ready for his part in the Year 6 performance of Pirates of the Curry Bean.
