The girls seemed to sleep well. The boys, however, were a little bit later getting to sleep and then were awake by 6am. They will regret that later and, hopefully, learn.
We have had a really good day. It is a bit wet and ‘midgey’ now, but we slipped in an evening walk to get away from the waterside for a while. The end of the evening will be in the dorms.
Below is a summary of the activities for the different groups. Lots more photos and some videos are available from this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yEzlPPeg0UGJDTeVgQcn4dtEPBQ5-jno?usp=sharing
Group 1
This morning, Group 1 did Via Ferrata with Mrs Dobkin as guest supervisor. Sophie led from the front and was super-quick. Taranjot and Ruban were very confident and supportive. Autumn and Mia were resilient, as they found it challenging. The whole group did very well.
In the afternoon, Group 1 were doing the abseil and gorge scramble. The instructor said that they were the quickest ever at putting on their wetsuits. Everyone successfully abseiled down, and Taranjot sorted out everyone’s carabiners. (The first group ever where I haven’t had to do any of that for them.) We then made our way up the gorge with lots of opportunity for scrambling, wading and some swimming. The water was quite low, but we still found a spot to jump in. They were a terrific group and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. They were very supportive of one another. Great fun!
Group 2
Group 2 did the abseil and gorge scramble in the morning. Mrs du Preez says that they were ‘amazing’! Everyone abseiled down and then they scrambled up waterfalls and jumped into some deeper pools. They all had a fantastic time and were a terrific group.
In the afternoon, Group 2 went caving. They were magnificent and went a little bit further than other groups, scrambling up a mud wall. Olivia deserves a special mention for leading the group through absolute darkness in one challenge. Aya-Sofia was particularly brave and resilient, but they were all equally good.
Group 3 went caving off-site at Manchester Hole in the morning. Mrs Hawkhead accompanied the group. It is fair to say that some of them found it a significant challenge (even though it is a very ‘easy’ cave). Trepidation was somewhat contagious, especially for the ‘lights out’ moment. Some of the group were more positive: Saim, for example, took everything in his stride with confidence and a smile. Everyone completed a slightly truncated tour of the cave.
In the afternoon, Group 3 had a much more successful session on the Via Ferrata course. It was a slippery and challenging course this afternoon, and Mrs Dobkin was impressed by the children’s resilience as they really challenged themselves and faced their fears. Max was particularly encouraging to others, and Saim, Shaheer and Freddie all took the high beam in their stride. A huge effort from Elise, who had slightly further to stretch than others, but made it round the course successfully. Lavanya, Nala, Shaheer and Saim all abseiled back down to the course and then completed it in reverse!
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