This year our High School’s trip to the Hillingdon Outdoor Activities Centre (HOAC) was on Thursday the 6th of September.  The weather had been poor during the start of the week but the sky was clear and blue.  It was as if it was meant to be.

All the students arrived at school and eagerly checked out the notice board to see which group they had been assigned to and which bus they would be travelling on.  After a short homeroom the whole High School community boarded the buses and off we went for a day of high adventure. The programme of activities for the day was designed to help students make new friends, learn more about themselves and each other. Each of the four year groups did different activities.

Grade Nine participated in a series of activities designed to foster cooperation and collaboration. They had to pass their whole team through the spiders web past Boris the spider’s 8 eyes. They were then blindfolded for their progression  through an obstacle course.  This obstacle course included going through very narrow tunnels. They then had to cross the “toxic swamp” with only three planks and not get eaten by the monsters and build a “house” blindfolded.  They also had a session kayaking and learning how to work together on the water.

Grade Ten competed in a games circuit testing memory and a variety of tasks that had to be broken down and worked on as a team. They also had the opportunity to go on the water and learn the basics of dinghy sailing. This involved partnerships communicating and working together to sail with and against the wind as well as navigate from point to point.

Grade Eleven rescued a  duck trapped in a plastic pipe, tried not to get blown up by the mines, crossed a gap with planks and erected a flagpole by remote control. They then exercised their design and pioneering skills and lashed together a raft. They then had to race to the buoy and back to win the prize. Unfortunately,  none of the rafts actually sank,  but one or two did manage to “lose” all their passengers and give them a soaking.

Grade Twelve students climbed the flagpole to a small platform, the jumped off the flagpole to catch the trapeze. As if that wasn’t hard enough, they actually climbed and jumped in pairs. They also as a team climbed the log ladder and individually navigated the wires and swings.  All in all they generally found out that yes they were at least a little nervous of heights. They also formed teams and developed team skills in racing dragon boats across the lake.

The day was a great success – quotes from the day include:

“With the help of others I can achieve a lot”

“Everyone was willing to work as a team”

The other aim of the day was for the students to learn about themselves.

“I learned that I am cheerful and pleasant”

“ I am more energetic when I do things in a group”

“ I can set my mind to do something even if I am afraid”

Students also learned about others:

“they are lovely people”

“all people have good ideas”

As new and old students worked together in teams, this possibly sums up everyone’s experience:

“I learned the names of all the people in my grade”

It is fair to say that we achieved our aims and many of the students are excited about the prospect of next year’s visit.