The ACS Hillingdon Eighth graders were lucky in September when they had the opportunity to spend a week with Outward Bound in Aberdovey, Wales. During the outward bound experience, the students were randomly split into five different groups. Each group had a set of activities for the week. Not all the groups did the exact same activities although many were done by the entire 8th grade and a great time by all.

Some of the activities the groups experienced were: rock climbing, jetty jumping, rafting, high ropes, the trapeze, hiking and sleeping outside. There were also many other mentally challenging activities for the 8th grade to do. All of the activities had some kind of challenge, to some that presented a fear that they would have to try to overcome in order to complete the challenge. When all was said and done, the challenges of the activities required us to draw on our own strengths as well as the support from our peers.

The week was a time for all the 8th graders to come together and to help one another grow and have fun. We also had a lot of time in between activities which was spent with friends sharing our experiences.

The rooms were nice and clean which had a good view of the Outward Bound camp. The rooms were shared by 4- 6 students, boys and girls were separated. The rooms were mostly used for sleeping as the common room was where we spent our time talking to friends, making new friends, and also playing a few games.

Many of the 8th graders said they were glad they went on this trip. It was a great experience, to meet new friends and conquer our fears. I would definitely do it again.