Prev
Next
Water sports
Learning new skills and working as a team
Water sports, as an option for Enrichment Week is a personal favourite of Mrs Stubbs, Senior Year Leader (new Year 10). It gives pupils the opportunity to take part in a variety of water-based sports, including windsurfing, canoeing, stand up paddle boarding, sailing, kayaking and raft building.
38 pupils (new) Year 10 took part this year and they spent the whole week discovering individual strengths, developing new skills, working as a team and overcoming some personal challenges.
In addition to water sports at South Cerney Outdoor, we also spent time at Cotswold Country Park and Beach, where we started our long walk which, considering the warm weather, was a challenge for us all but we finished with a group picnic by the lakeside. The afternoon was spent relaxing with friends, going for a swim to cool down and playing volleyball, ending the day with a well-deserved ice cream. The AquaVenture inflatable challenge was enjoyed by both pupils and staff with lots of laughs and splashes!!
"What a fantastic week! The pupils threw themselves into the challenges they were given when experiencing new activities on the water. They showed stamina when walking on a very hot day and had great fun at the water park. Watching them have so much fun on the huge inflatable and hearing them laugh so much was a pleasure. Thank you (new) Year 10 pupils for a great week." Mrs Stubbs, Year Leader
Our thanks to a fantastic group of pupils, to Mrs Hacker for organising it all, and to Mrs Stubbs, Mr Schlaefli, Mr Ellen and Mrs Pennington.
See what our pupils thought of their water sports week:
Milly: "The water sports option was amazing, the people were lovely and were so kind. On the first day we did kayaking and sailing and that was so much fun. For a couple of days we stayed at the same park, but on the third day we went to a different park and that is where we had the lovely hike and then sat down for a picnic, after which we were all allowed to go for a swim in the lake. The next day we went on the inflatable park, which was so much fun - everyone was laughing and having a good time. On the last day we went paddle boarding and wind surfing. I had such great week!"
Vincent: "Water sports was really great. I wasn't really excited to take part as I don't really like anything in water, but I really enjoyed it. Everyone got involved, including the teachers. It helped that we had a mix between relaxing days, just relaxing on the beach and having a picnic, and then the active days doing stand-up paddle boarding, sailing etc.
It was great because we were with different friendship groups and met new people. I would definitely recommend it as you can push teachers in the water - what's not to love about that! It's great for everyone, even if you don't like water activities. I had a really good time."
Lola: "Enrichment Week this year was really fun and enjoyable. I think that anyone could have enjoyed the Water Sports option; athletic or not. As I have had experience in the past with water sports, I didn’t think I would find some events as exciting, but if anything it was a reason to enjoy it more. We did a range of activities such as stand-up paddle boarding, sailing and windsurfing, canoeing and kayaking, as well as raft building. These activities were just as entertaining as the teamwork (successful or not) and made the week so much more fun, and funny too. For two days we went to a different place, away from the lake and did some other things - swimming, walking and playing on an inflatable in the water; this was probably the highlight of my week as this is where most people ‘bonded’ or where most people who haven’t yet interacted spoke, meaning new friendships were found. Despite the fact some people found this difficult, it was a challenge we had all overcome. Water sports is one of the highlights of my time at Deer Park so far and I would recommend choosing this Enrichment Week activity."