For the past 2 year, some Year 6 pupils have had a fantastic opportunity to head up to the Scottish Highlands to build upon their skills and experiences from their previous residential to Derwent Hill. This three day trip is jam packed with activities which encourage pupils to push themselves to their maximum potential and develop their fitness as well as learning some basic outdoor survival skills!
Read how our previous trip in 2023 went, below:
After a seven-hour bus ride with the most beautiful natural scenery along the way, we arrive at the Loch Eil Outward Bound Centre where our mentors greet us with smiles. Our first task was to choose our dorm rooms then it was straight down to Loch Eil for a dip in the loch! After a bunch of fun and water games, we then headed to have a lovely dinner and get our kit bags organised for the next day.
Waking up on Saturday morning, we were treated to a lovely breakfast spread of homemade waffles, fresh fruit and yoghurt, cereals, toast and spreads. Children were encouraged to fuel up for the long day ahead. We then chose our packed lunches and dinners for the rest of the day and packed these into our kits. Once we were all set, the three groups headed our separate ways and got taken to our drop off points via bus.
Our hikes began with stunning weather of around 18 degrees (practically tropical for Scotland!). Each group was tasked with hiking around 5-6 miles across the span of the day. At multiple points during the day’s hike, pupils took part in a wide variety of adventure activities including canoeing, abseiling, rock climbing, scrambling and gorge walking to name a few! We were so proud of how each and every pupil demonstrated resilience and everyone gave all the activities a go!
After a tiring but exciting day of challenges, we arrived at our campsites. One group being located at the base of the magnificent Ben Nevis, one group on an island in the middle of Loch Sheil and the final group camping under the stars at the edge of a small loch. We learned how to start our own campfires, search for safe drinking water upstream and how to set up our tents for the night. We certainly scoffed down our food and pudding and then had an hour spare to play group games round the campfire.
We woke up in the morning to the sounds of nature all around us. After our breakfast and packing up our tents, we began our 3 mile hikes back to our pick up points. Along the way, discussing our proudest moments from the previous day. We were thankful to put our feet up and our bags down when we got into the pick up bus!
Our trip ended with an awards ceremony with our mentors, where we awarded each other with a certificate and something positive they achieved or a value they showed. After saying our goodbyes, we hopped on the bus and headed back for England. It’s safe to say we had a lot of sleeping pupils on the bus home! Overall, it was a once in a lifetime experience of a weekend and an amazing physical achievement for the pupils. Our feedback from both parents and pupils was extremely positive and we are looking forward to our trip again this year!
