Year 5 Senior School Visit
On Thursday Year 5 pupils from The Abbey, all bright-eyed and enthusiastic, visited the Senior School for an exciting morning of outdoor activities, fun and learning in the Valley. Everything was devised and led by our experienced CCF staff (Major Garvie and Captain Capjon) with expert assistance from a fine team of sixth form cadets. Ever keen to get going, Year 5 were quickly assigned to their groups, the smiles on their faces as bright as the sunshine; and so began a wonderful morning. Each small group rotated around a carousel of activities: the Drill stand, where the youngsters learnt Drill actions under the benign instruction of the senior cadets; the subtle ‘arts’ of camouflage and concealment (it is a lot harder than just slapping some camo cream on your face!); in the woods, and the chance to take on the Assault Course (how they climbed, stretched, crawled and leapt, supporting each other all the way!); and the Command exercises… intently listening to the sixth formers before trying to work out their own ways of accomplishing the tasks armed only with limited supplies, and sometimes even blindfolded…
Regular much-needed refreshment; masses of encouragement; briefings and debriefings; successes and ‘opportunities’…. What a day! So many smiles… and from a group of enthusiastic individuals at the start of the morning, to a group of successful collaborative learners all grown in confidence by the end, with challenges embraced and overcome (the first of many, no doubt!). Well done all, and many thanks to the cadets and officers for making the morning such a success.
