Mr Ellen tells us about a wonderful week on the lakes:
Watersports+
“What a week! Sandwiched between two heatwaves and the weather was perfect! Five glorious warm sunny days and a sensible breeze, where else would you rather be than trying out some new skills at the local water park? And what a week it was! Based solely at Lake 12, The Real Outdoor Experience with a smorgasbord of 11 different taster activities based on land and water to learn new skills and improve team-working.
The group took part in kayaking, stand-up paddle-boarding (renamed as stand-up paddle fall in!), sailing, raft building, canoeing and high ropes activities as well as bushcraft skills, and team building games. Some had tried a few of these before, some had never done any of these activities, so it was great to see everyone improving from their starting point. For some it was also important building confidence in and around the water, working with different people, and it was fantastic to see everyone fully involved.
The week was fabulous, with staff and students learning new skills, working together and demonstrating our key school values of excellence through inclusion, staying safe, being happy and with lots of success. There were numerous examples of great personal determination, kindness shown to each other and some amazing personal achievements. I was most impressed with those that tried activities they had never done before, the encouragement given by peers when someone was struggling and smiles when an obstacle was overcome. There were certainly lots of very tired bodies, with a few bruises at the end of each day! The group did themselves and the school proud. The centre staff and instructors were extremely complimentary about our group and made it a 5-Star week. It was also great to work with some CDPS pupils on work experience, or CDPS alumni so our current crop of adventurers could see perhaps a career area they might be interested in exploring in the future”.
RYA Sailing – Level 1 and 2
“If somebody had asked me what I wanted for this week, it would have been warm sunny days with a good breeze. Thank you for this – as our sailors were blessed with perfect sailing conditions every single day of this week! Our group of 6, renamed ‘The Doritos’, because of their fluorescent triangular sails quickly got to grips with a totally new skills as all had either no, or very little sailing experience, prior to the week. By the end, they could all confidently rig and take down a boat, use a variety of knots, capsize, learnt a whole new language of technical sailing terms and most importantly could sail competently and independently, there were even some races on Friday.
The group, led by their instructor Lindsay followed the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Level 1 and Level 2 dinghy sailing courses, which had a mix of taught elements in a classroom, practically on a dry boat and of course most of the time on the water, putting the theory into action. The great news is they all passed both levels within the week, and with many of them keen to continue sailing either for recreational purposes, to work towards level 3 or perhaps looking to join a local club and start racing.
This was the second time we have offered this course and certainly one I will be offering next. We have a fantastic range of facilities in the water park on our doorstep, and we really should be looking at getting our pupils out there to use them more often. The centre offered high quality training, great facilities and equipment and it was great to see our students come off the water each day happy and successful in what they had achieved. They all have a nationally recognised sailing qualification, and I hope they will continue with their sailing journey”.
BCA Paddle Awards
“This was a new venture for enrichment week this year and I wasn’t quite sure how the outline of the award scheme would fit into the practicalities each day. However, I was soon put at ease by the centre instructors and this pioneering group of 6, spent all week on the water in a variety of different craft: kayaks, canoes and SUPs. The focus of the awards moved from setting up, basic control, speed and turning, to capsizing and races and games all developing team work, communication and water skills. For most of the week, the group disappeared to the furthest sides of the lake with their instructor, but I was able to join the group a couple of times a see their progress throughout the week. Its safe to say that there were some tired, and rosy bodies by the end of the week.
Students should be emailed (on school email address) their certification directly from BCA – hopefully some will have moved onto their Stage 5 Award.
If you have read any of these articles and are interested in watersports / water qualifications, the good news is I have booked activities for enrichment week next year (June 28th – July 2nd 27). At the moment, it is likely to focus more on water awards and qualifications, so I will likely run the sailing course again, the paddle awards (but for a larger group) and I am also exploring windsurfing as a new set of qualifications. I will probably also run a small mixed ‘watersports+’ group where there are more of a mix of ‘taster’ land and water activities. Please also be aware there are lots of activities going on throughout the summer, and the rest of the year at the centre so do look at their website: https://realoutdoorxperience.co.uk/
Thanks also to Mrs Russell, Mrs Brand, Mrs Roxburgh, Mrs Elwell and Mrs Stephenson who were all superstars on this trip, fully prepared to embrace the challenges of each day and get out on (or in) the water to help support our pupils”.
Mr Jim Ellen – Trip Leader
