Y6 Residential
Day 1: All Children have arrived safely in Wales! Amazing weather forecast for the week.
We had an incredibly smooth start, departing Larkrise right on time. All was well until we hit the ring road!
Still, it wasn't long before we were out on the open road and quickly crossing the Severn Bridge into Wales!
After a quick stop, we enjoyed looking out at the fields filled with animals we could see from the coach window: cows and calves and even wild ponies!
The sun sparkled on the water as we hit Mumbles, and we soon arrived at Kilvrough Manor, just in time for lunch in the sunshine.
After meeting Rod, Sarah, Sam and Jamie - our tutors for the week - we dragged our baggage up many stairs into our bedrooms. Next, we split into activity groups for the afternoon's team-building sessions, including tree-climbing, manoeuvring balls around a pinball board, and even crossing "crocodile-infested" rivers (imaginary!) by swinging on a buoy.
Everyone is now having free time, showers, then fish fingers for dinner, and some orienteering this evening. It's tiring just writing it!
Fingers crossed for a settled evening and good sleep ahead of tomorrow's activities of climbing, caving and beach scrambling.
Team Kilvrough
Day 2
After varying levels of "good night's sleep"... Team Kilvrough awoke to bright sunshine and the sound of birdsong!
Room Inspections went well, with teams showing they really took pride in making their rooms a nice place to be. A vacuum cleaner had even been used in many rooms!!! Top scores at the moment go to Pobbles and Port Eynon rooms.
Everyone got ready for the day, then it was off either caving (Groups C&D) or climbing/abseiling (Groups A&B).
Over to the children for their verdict on the day:
Georgie: "Caving was nerve-racking but fun."
Ellrose: "Climbing the cliff face was scary, but I did it!"
Gene: "I loved the abseiling today."
Zara: "We really built our teamwork while climbing."
Orlando: "I loved abseiling."
Bart and Bilal: "We did the hardest climb and some bits were tricky."
Alex P: "We were in cold water in the caves and did a challenge called The Toilet, where we had to go down a hole and crouch down into water while travelling through underground tunnels!"
Scarlett: "Climbing was really fun but a bit scary."
Aleiza: (who didn't stop grinning all the way down) "I loved climbing and abseiling!"
Nell: "I just can't believe we are here!"
Everyone else: "Best Day Ever!"
I can hear the Duty Team setting up the dining room for this evening's meal - spaghetti bolognese. Everyone has been eating well (many better than expected!). After dinner, we are walking to Pennard Castle to watch the sunset over Three Cliffs Bay.
As a staff team, we could not be more proud of your wonderful children, who are representing you, Larkrise, and themselves with great enthusiasm, determination, and kindness to all. Above all, they are certainly showing that they are more than ready to meet every Challenge!
Team Kilvrough
Day 3
Happy birthday to Giulia!
After a great night's sleep - and a bacon/veggie buttie for breakfast - all teams were ready for their next challenge!
Team A and B headed to the caves, where everyone kept the spirit of enthusiasm going by pushing themselves to try each challenge. Yes, parents, many of your children have been pushed through the legendary "Letterbox" and travelled through the terrifying "Toilet"! Mrs Millin and Ms Scott could not be prouder of their groups!
It was an exhilarating coastal scramble for groups C and D, led by Mr Wicks, Miss Stewart, and Miss Hancock. Children learned about the area's geology, found sea glass, explored rock pools, and even had time for a quick paddle.
After a change of plan to do the den building last night, our night walk to Pennard Castle sunset is this evening, after the roast dinner
Over to the kids:
Asher - Caving was a lot of fun. And also so dark!
Tor - Caving was the best experience of my whole life.
Quinn - Best activity in the world (caving)
Edith - I found loads and loads of shells, and we saw live sea snails in the rock pools.
Lily - I found parts of a crab shell, and Dafna found quartz.
Silvio - The coastal scramble was like travelling through Mordor. It was so good to get to the beach!
Ted P - The coastal scramble was more fun than I expected. It was fun making art in the sand. I also stroked a horse as it walked past!
After a long and exciting but tiring day -
NaeNae - I'm dead. Georgie: I'm deader!
Day 4
Happy birthday Jude!
Another incredible day on the Gower Peninsula. We have been so lucky with the weather this week - not a drop of rain, temperatures in the high teens and just enough of a breeze to keep us from getting too hot!
Today, Groups A&B took on the coasteering challenge, enjoying gorgeous views over Rhosili Beach and over to Worm's Head before scrambling over massive boulders and craggy rocks to find a sweet sea view for lunch. Our climbing skills came in handy for the most challenging part, and then everyone enjoyed a paddle and play at Fall Bay Beach.
Groups C&D were off to Pobbles Beach for some climbing and abseiling. Everyone motivated each other to go down and supported each other with ropes as they climbed up. We are so proud of every single child as each of them has faced fears, encouraged friends and met every challenge set.
This evening, it is time for packing up and clearing the Manor, ready for our return to Oxford tomorrow. We leave here at 3 pm after the whole group walks together to Caswell Beach, and time for beach art, paddling and fun in the sun with our friends.
Looking forward to seeing everyone back at Larkrise about 7 pm - communications re precise timings to come. Look out for a coachful of sun-kissed, tired but very proud children who have grown beyond measure and impressed their teachers beyond words
Team Kilvrough
Day 5 - Final Day
After an evening of packing and returning (most of) the lost property to its rightful owner, we had a good night's sleep and our final breakfast at Kilvrough Manor.
This morning, each group had their final morning meeting with their Larkrise staff lead to reflect on the week and evaluate all that we had achieved before our final coastal walk and hitting the beach one last time.
This morning, we started at Caswell as a whole Larkrise Team and walked along the coastal path to Langland Bay. It was a stunning route with incredible weather once again. We were lucky to see seals by the rocks - one giving quite a show, bobbing and flicking its tail. What a treat for our last day on the Gower!
At Langland, we ate lunch, paddled and played. It was joyful to see the children simply enjoying being children - digging holes, burying each other in the sand, jumping over the waves, searching for sea glass and building castles, forts, and even bridges! After a week of Adventure, now the legendary Larkrise Creativity was out in force.
After that, it was back to base in the minibuses to load up the coach with cases and time for one last goodbye to our fantastic Kilvrough tutors - Rod, Sarah, Sam, Jamie and Ed. They have shown such care and dedication to your children's experience this week, and we can't thank them enough. Wonderfully, the appreciation was mutual, and throughout the week, the Kilvrough team have repeatedly remarked upon the positivity, enthusiasm and above all, Kindness shown by the children we brought with us this week. The children have all worked hard in their groups to encourage and build the confidence of those who needed it at whatever point. This inclusivity is our greatest strength, and it was incredible to see it in effect this week - even more so to have it commented upon so frequently by the adults at Kilvrough.
Thank you, parents, for all of your hard work in preparing the children for this phenomenal trip. They have each grown so much in so many ways this week, and we hope they can take their amazing achievements with them into the rest of this year and beyond.
It is now 3 pm, and we are already on the road, heading back to Oxford happy, tired and hopefully ready to share some of what they have been up to. Maybe just after a good long snooze!
Team Kilvrough
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