We’ve had a fantastic first day on our Year 6 residential with 6D. The weather has been absolutely glorious—clear blue skies and sunshine all around. Very different from our Y5 residential!
Despite the heat, we’ve been lucky that the shade of the gorge (and the occasional cave!) offers a cool and refreshing escape from the sun, making for perfect exploring conditions.
Our adventure began with a drive to Coldstone Cut on Greenhow Hill—a truly unique and fascinating spot to stretch our legs and take in the views. Overlooking a dramatic quarry, this impressive piece of public art offered not only stunning scenery but also plenty of opportunities to learn. The children explored information boards to discover facts about lime kilns, local geology, and even got to test their skills with the 16 points of the compass.
In the afternoon, we split into 3 groups for our first activity.
Group 1 (Mr Hemming)
Vanshika
Leah
Caitlin
Aashif
Noah
Ciaran
Ezaan
Sebastian
This afternoon, the group took on the Via Ferrata course. All of the children really pushed themselves and were wonderfully encouraging to one another. Sebastian led the way like a true ‘Spiderman,’ and the whole group showed great teamwork and support throughout. Every child completed the zip wire, which involved a real leap of faith across the gorge. They all described it as “scary but fun”—a perfect start to the residential!
Group 2 (Mrs. Du Preez)
Theo
Jesse
Lydia
Arjan
Zac
Alice M
Rafferty
Ayla
This was a bit more challenging (and drier) than the Year 5 caving experience, with more glacial mud and less water. There were some really tricky sections, and Jesse was fantastic at supporting others through the tight spots. Zac particularly impressed Mrs. Du Preez by confidently leading the way through the final cave. As well as challenging themselves physically, the children also learned a lot about geology—especially the formation of hollow stalactites.
Group 3 (Mrs. Dobkin)
Jemimah
Amina
Alice F
Micah
Mohammed Yaseen
Mohammed Raees
Jersey
Harshaan
This group tackled the abseil and gorge scramble today. Alice F conquered her fears to lead the way on the abseil, and all of the children (including Mrs. Dobkin!) successfully made their way down into the gorge. Thankfully, there was just enough water for the children to paddle and splash their way upstream—and then back down the waterfalls. Everyone did brilliantly, with Jemimah giving a particularly memorable performance, resembling a salmon migrating upstream! Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties with her phone falling into the gorge, Mrs. Dobkin wasn’t able to capture as many photos as she’d hoped.
Given the warm weather, we’ve decided to save the planned evening walk until tomorrow and instead enjoy some fun and relaxed games closer to the shade—and conveniently near the water supply!
Let’s hope for a lie-in tomorrow, but something tells us the combination of sunshine and the surprisingly ‘chatty’ countryside might have other plans…
Photos of the activities can be accessed via this link. We’ll upload as many as the How Stean Wi-Fi will allow, so please be patient and check back later if you don’t see your child in the gallery just yet.
