On Monday 25th April, Year 4 travelled to West Malvern for their two night residential at the Boundless Outdoors Centre. Once there, the children were able to take part in a range of activities and learn many new skills – including how to make their own beds! As always, the staff at the centre were knowledgeable, supportive and engaging and the food was delicious. Seeing the children challenge themselves and grow in confidence was wonderful and everyone had a fabulous time – including the Somers Park staff (A special thank you to Mrs Everett, Miss Rowney, Mrs Gough and Mrs Miltiadou for giving up their time). Well done to all the children for conquering fears, making new friends, sharing their ideas and yet again representing Somers Park in such a superb way.

Mrs Black and Miss Cecil.

A West Malvern Review

‘When we first arrived we were shown which dorms we would be sleeping in (there were boys rooms and girls rooms) and then put into our day groups for activities where we were all mixed together. Each group did different activities on each day. In group one, our first activity was archery where we learned to load an arrow and shoot a bow – some people even hit a bullseye! Then we did the king swing which is a massive swing that goes through the trees. It was really high up but amazing to do. In the evening we did the low rope which were really good fun. We worked in pairs and had to ‘spot’ each other doing the superman or ninja squirrel pose. One of the best parts was the waffle net but the monkey bars were really tough. Another group did the punch trail where we got to explore the grounds and learn to read maps.

On day two it was Iron Age day where we did lots of Iron Age activities. We made roundhouses with wattle and daub – lots of us forgot to leave a door but our villages were good. We made pots out of clay which we got to take home and we also tried Iron Age stew which didn’t have potatoes because there weren’t any back then. The most exciting part was our hill battle, where we ran up the ramparts on British camp (which was really hard) and then got to paint our faces and be Romans or Celts and have a big battle. Some of us even got to beat the teachers- it was lots of fun!

Before we went home on day three, we did crate stacking where we pulled ropes and had to balance on a tower like Jenga. After that, we did the zip wire which was 60 metres tall! It was so fast it was almost like flying. It was kind of scary because it was so high up but really exciting.

We all loved the food – especially getting to choose our meals and the cake we had before story time in the evening. Boundless Outdoors was the best experience we’ve ever had. The activities were super exciting and all the staff were really helpful and kind.’

By Noah, Oliver, Indigo and Megan (4JB)

Our residential to West Malvern

‘On Monday 25^th April, Year 4 travelled up to West Malvern. We started our trip by walking up the steep road to get to Boundless Outdoors, were really a tired when we got up there.                                When we arrived they kindly greeted us by showing us around and told us the important rules.      The first thing they told us where our rooms were and.  We put our bags in our room and then went to the V.I.P room so we could find out what we would be doing during our stay.

The first activity group we did was crate stacking and the king swing, Group 4 did the zip wire and group 1 did archery. After the activities we went outside to have lunch outside and free time where we could play outside or be in our dorms. We really challenged ourselves during the activities and encouraged each other to face our fears!

On day two, we began the day with walking up to British Camp for an Iron Age Battle. We split into two teams, the Romans and the Celts, it was really fun! In the afternoon, we made Iron Age pottery and made a roundhouse in teams using the wattle and daub technique. To finish the day, we all sat round the camp fire and tasted some Iron Age Stew, it was delicious and some of us went back for more.

Our trip to West Malvern was brilliant and it taught us how to challenge ourselves and work well in a team and become more confident!’

By Holly Smith, Beatrix Harmer and Stella Gurney

‘I liked conquering my fears on the zip line.’ Raffy

‘I smashed creating fire twice with flint, steel and cotton wool!’ James

‘I enjoyed archery because it was challenging and we got to use a bow and arrow.’ Jamie

‘I had a brilliant time at Bounless Outdoors. I liked the king swing and crate stacking the most.’ Morgan

‘I really enjoyed conquering my fear of heights on the zip wire and I also loved the food.’ Hattie

A little message from Mr Hansen

Residential visits can only take place if school staff give up their own time. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Black, Miss Cecil, Mrs Everett, Miss Rowney, Mrs Gough and Mrs Miltiadou for staying away with the Year 4 children. An additional thanks to Mrs Russell who joined the trip one evening to read a bedtime story!