Building Resilience: Year 6 Residential Trip

On arrival at Rhyd-y-Creau, Junior School pupils got stuck straight into some bushcraft, honing their skills in lighting fires with a flint and building shelters using natural materials from the woodland. They also tested their camouflage skills with a game of hiding in the woods from a stationary seeker, trying to sneak as close as they could without being spotted.

On either Tuesday or Thursday, pupils went for a short hike around the beautiful Cwm Idwal site. Evelyn said that this was one of her favourite moments on the trip as she was struck by the beauty of the mountains and waterfalls. While they were there, the instructors taught the pupils about how glaciation had formed this region, pointing out features such as erratics (like the famous Darwin’s Boulders) and the corrie, which contained the lake pupils walked around. The pupils were also told the mythology of the area, including that the mountains are really the bodies of giants, caught in the ice age.

After a packed lunch, which the pupils had made for themselves, the afternoon activity was rock climbing in ‘Tin Can Alley’, a disused quarry which is now a popular spot for climbing and abseiling. Caterina said that reaching the top of the climbing route was both her proudest moment of the week but also her greatest challenge. We were amazed at how nimbly the pupils were able to scale the rock face. We were also impressed by the way that every pupil challenged themselves to do their very best. Some pupils were initially hesitant to participate at all, feeling nervous about the height, but we were impressed when they pushed themselves to give at least part of the climbing a go.

Meanwhile, the other group were enjoying a relaxing morning taking on the navigation challenge, honing their knowledge of cardinal directions and using grid references in order to read a map and do some orienteering. The afternoon brought a more high-octane experience for this group, as they took on gorge scrambling upstream in a slippery and steep river. Highlights of this included a ‘water slide’ and the ‘washing machine’ - a waterfall which pupils could stand under if they wanted to get very wet indeed. Many pupils said that gorge scrambling was their best moment of the week, but also admitted that the soggy journey back in wet clothing was one of their more challenging moments, requiring plenty of tenacity.

Wednesday brought the mountain day, when all the Junior School pupils and staff went to climb Yr Wyddfa. Despite ominous tidings, the weather proved to be perfect for mountaineering, with a stiff breeze keeping everybody from growing too hot, while the sun blazed. The children were in awe of the spectacular views afforded by such a clear day. For Rayhan, the mountain day was a particular highlight. Pupils needed to call upon their stamina, resilience and teamwork skills in order to make the most of the hike and all pupils made it, at least, to the finger stone, meaning they were able to descend via the miner’s track and enjoy skimming stones in the lake on their return.

Evening activities included a series of team-building games such as a life-sized game of Minesweeper and balancing a giant seesaw. Pupils also did more orienteering, with a focus on learning facts about Wales and enjoyed toasting marshmallows and sharing stories at a campfire. Pupils also got to enjoy free time in the games room and student lounge, as well as outside on the football pitch at the centre.

On Friday the fun was not yet over, as Junior School pupils headed to Bounce Below, a series of bouncy nets and slides positioned in an enormous cavern. For most, this was a real treat, as pupils jumped and sprang through the vast series of nets, discovering secret tunnels and chambers as they went. Some pupils found getting onto the nets required nerves of steel, as they overcame a fear of heights to explore.

Once they were thoroughly tired out by all that bouncing, the pupils were brought back to Cambridge, facing another lengthy journey home. Once again, their behaviour was great and they managed to entertain themselves admirably. Particularly impressive was Hanna’s finger knitting, which, by the end of the journey, was almost twice as long as the entire coach.

This fantastic trip has developed the children’s resilience, in particular, but also their collaboration, curiosity and tolerance as they have taken on new challenges and worked well as a team to reach new heights.