Our Second Form pupils are just back from an exciting trip to North Wales.
The objective of this trip was to challenge students in the outdoor environment, and it served as a precursor and preparation for the annual trip to the Alps, which take place in July.
The pupils, along with members of staff – including Head of Outdoor Education Mr Evans – left in the morning of Friday 10th May and arrived at Marle Hall Outdoor Centre in Llandudno Junction by lunch time.
After a quick lunch and a settling-in period, the centre staff gave pupils a briefing on their home for the weekend, and gave an outline of the events planned for the next two days.
After lunch, students were split into three groups and donned waterproofs and wellies with helmets and buoyancy aids, before setting off for the nearby gorge.
The afternoon was spent gorge scrambling, in which pupils had to climb their way up the river and slide down waterfalls and into plunge pools. Mr Evans reports that the water was very cold!
After dinner, the centre staff organised a range of leadership and team building activities in the centre grounds.
Saturday was mountain day and the three groups headed to three different locations, each with the aim to reach the top of a peak. The routes chosen were deliberately more complex than just walking up a footpath, and the pupils all needed to do some scrambling at some point. Mr Evans said ‘the weather was wonderful and once at the top the views were spectacular.
After a long day the evening was set aside for social time.
On Sunday the whole group headed to some nearby crags for rock climbing and abseiling.
Mr Evans concludes: ‘All of the pupils achieved well on the rock face and many overcame some of their fears. They left tired but feeling they had all achieved something and pushed themselves beyond their expectations.
See more great photos from the trip on our Flickr page here.