Year 7 Bushcraft Adventure

To start their Senior School journey, our Year 7 boys began the academic year with an exciting Bushcraft adventure in Kent.

The purpose of this trip is to ensure that we get the year off to a great start and give the boys an opportunity to form new friendships, consolidate old ones and create a real sense of identity and togetherness amongst the year group at a key transition point in their education.

It gives them a special start to their time in the Senior School. The boys discovered how to fend for themselves, confront and solve situations which fall outside their existing experiences, look out and care for each other and appreciate the outdoors under canvas and the stars. Learning together in a setting rather distant from their usual home existence provided the boys with an opportunity to develop personal skills, to conduct themselves safely and responsibly in an outdoor environment, to work as part of a team towards a shared goal, and to think creatively about their surroundings.

Highlights of the weekend included getting into total camouflage, using face paint, leaves and branches to blend into their surroundings! The boys undertook fire lighting and cooked their own burgers for dinner. They built shelters, with some boys choosing to sleep under their own creations instead of in the tents! They played wide games, worked on their cutting skills and made survival bracelets.

The boys also learnt vital skills in wilderness first aid and were called upon to deal with an SOS situation after discovering crashed planes in the bush. We can report that the boys successfully saved Mr Sergeant and Mr Cooke!

It was a fantastic 3 days of challenge, teamwork, friendship and adventure, giving the boys the chance to learn together, support one another and make memories that will stay with them throughout their time in the Senior School.

A great start to the new academic year!