Each year in the Autumn term, our Year 7 pupils enjoy a teambuilding session. Ordinarily, pupils would enjoy a two-day trip in the Peak District, but with overnight stays not allowed in a Covid-19 environment, this year our pupils made the most of our stunning, and very expansive, new campus. Below is a report from Ross, in Year 7, on his experiences:
In September, the Year 7s went on an exhilarating day of Teambuilding with each other at the Derby Playing Fields. Activities that they did included Orienteering, Bushcraft, Tower of Babel and various other exercises.
The day started at 9am and continued until 5pm. Everyone started off with different activities, some of which even spread over the entire school campus. I think that most of the Year 7s will agree with me when I say that the overall favourite challenge was the Orienteering. This challenge included having a map and score card that you had to use to find the stations that were set up around the campus and could be marked off with the marker at each station. I am glad to say that almost everyone in Year 7 completed this task and found it extremely enjoyable.
Another activity was to create a picture frame with an assortment of natural objects that were found scattered about the vast expanse of space. This was a relaxing task as it was all to do with nature and calmed everyone down after the Orienteering challenge.
After half an hour or so of doing this, we moved on to the Tower of Babel. In this task we had five crates on a tyre, and they had to be moved onto another tyre. We had one intermediate tyre at our disposal, and every single group used this. The crates were ordered 1 to 5, with 5 on top and 1 at the bottom. Everybody managed to do this, and everyone was very impressed with the outcome.
Next, we had lunch which was supplied by the school, and a few children were allowed to toast their sandwiches on the fire. Afterwards we had Bushcraft, which was the second favourite of the activities. This event included using knives for certain things, building a shelter (some of these were more successful than others) and starting a fire. The last task truly was about working together, and I know that most of us did. At the end, we got to toast marshmallows and even had hot chocolate. We all had a hugely enjoyable day where friendships were forged, and it was a memorable occasion.
Ross Hallinan
Form 7AMM