Year 6 Residential Day 2

The children generally settled well last night—although there was a fair bit of late-night chatter in some lodges! That said, they were all up bright and early this morning, full of energy and ready to take on another action-packed day of adventure.

Each group completed two activities today, rotating between abseiling and gorge scrambling, canoeing, and caving. The children have continued to show great enthusiasm, resilience, and support for one another throughout the day. It’s been lovely to see them challenge themselves and encourage their peers in equal measure.

Group 1
Abseil & Gorge Scrambling AM
This group began the day with the abseil and gorge scramble. Every child completed the abseil, and all of them did amazingly well as they climbed up and down the waterfalls. A special mention goes to Ezaan, who was the most nervous before the abseil—but once he took that first step over the edge, his smile didn’t leave his face all morning! The children had a brilliant time splashing their way through the gorge, and Caitlin, in particular, seemed to glide effortlessly up and down the waterfalls.

Canoeing PM
In the afternoon, Group 1 joined Group 3 for some canoeing on Scar House Reservoir. The children enjoyed lashing their canoes together to navigate the lake and practised manoeuvring their way across the water. They then showed their competitive sides during a fun game involving throwing tennis balls into the instructors’ boats. Mr. Hemming was particularly pleased to be in a canoe with Vanshika and Leah, who clearly shared his competitive spirit!

The children from Group 1 managed to stay relatively dry—until the very end, when Ciaran and his partner capsized. Thankfully, they were close to shore, and although Ciaran was soaking wet, it didn’t wipe the smile off his face!

Group 2
Canoeing AM
This morning, children from group 2 were the first to canoe and worked together particularly well in order to bring the very heavy canoes down to the water’s edge. In teams of 3 they paddled their way across the reservoir and learned how to reverse, spin, and stop their canoes in style. All children remained dry – even after playing a high-energy game of ‘canoe-dodgeball-tag!’ Special shout out to Theo who was the group’s expert and really supported his teammates in getting their canoes to go the right way!

Abseil and gorge scramble PM
This afternoon, the children enjoyed scrambling up and down through the gorge, with almost the entire group completing the abseil.
Rafferty and Lydia deserve a special shoutout for pushing themselves and overcoming their fears—brilliant effort from both! The group had great fun splashing through the stream and even took on a ‘trust fall’ into the water, which brought lots of laughter and cheering.

Group 3
Caving AM
Most of the children completed all three caves this morning, working brilliantly as a team to overcome their fears. They showed real perseverance, with Micah in particular demonstrating outstanding resilience. Mohammed Raees led the way into the trickiest of the caves and encouraged the rest of the group to follow—an impressive display of leadership and confidence. Their instructor commented on what a great team they were, highlighting how well they supported one another throughout the experience.

Canoeing PM
Group 3 took to the water this afternoon alongside group 1 in their canoeing activity. After bringing the canoes together in a ‘mega raft’ the children played some brilliant games which challenged them to stand up, kneel down and bend over in their canoes – all while staying out of the water! Things were going incredibly well… until Jemimah, Harshaan and Amina took a tumble into the water. After being quickly brought back onto their boats by the instructor, the girls dried off and had huge smiles at their dramatic adventures. Well done to all the children who worked together so well to remain dry throughout!

Evening Activities
This evening, the weather has turned a little cooler and wetter than yesterday, and the children are noticeably more tired after a full day of adventure. We opted for a relaxed evening of bingo and board games, followed by hot chocolate and marshmallows to wind down.

We’re fairly confident the children will sleep well tonight—ready for their final activity tomorrow morning!

Photos of the activities from day 2 can be accessed via this link.