June 29th 2018
Discovering the UK
Years 3 to 5 have had a fantastic week of fun and games here whilst the Years 6, 7 and 8 boys have all been away on their trips. The boys took part in a wonderful array of activities based on this year’s theme of the ‘United Kingdom’. For the ‘England and Ireland’ activities they decorated hankies with English and Irish symbols and flags, they baked scones, performed a play of ‘George and the Dragon’ and learnt Morris Dancing. The ‘Scotland’ activities included making shortbread and smoked salmon canapés, learning Scottish Reels including Strip the Willow, creating their own Loch Ness monster and painting their faces to look like William Wallace, as well as taking part in Highland Games activities. The Welsh group baked welsh cakes, created paper dragon bookmarks, designed and drew Celtic knots and enjoyed a river-side treasure hunt.
On Wednesday evening, Year 5 had their Camp Out at Moulsford. After putting up their tents, and having a BBQ, they took part in rock climbing, mobile caving and clay pigeon archery. Following a short amount of sleep and an early start, the boys spent Thursday taking part in team building and leadership activities.
The trip to Warwick Castle was a highlight of the week for Years 3 and 4, where they enjoyed seeing the launch of a giant trebuchet, birds of prey, as well as learning battle skills.
The Pre-Prep was a hive of fun during Activities Week. We explored the British Isles with gusto! England offered Paddington Bear, Scotland was in search of Nessy, Wales considered slaying dragons and Ireland rebuilt the Titanic. On Wednesday the sun shone as we headed to Odds Farm for a very British day on the farm. We all enjoyed tractor rides and feeding the animals. The boys' company was magical and their behaviour was impeccable. On Thursday afternoon, our very informal Pre-Prep fete was a sight to behold. It was gorgeous to enjoy our stunning grounds and share the boys' fun and laughter with you all. The Pre-Prep staff and boys have been instrumental in displaying nothing but maximum energy and enthusiasm and we are already looking forward to Activities Week 2019!
The week was rounded off with an It’s a Knockout competition where the boys from Bobcats to Year 5 worked in houses and took part in Dodgeball, Just Dance, Rugby Netball, Synchronised Swimming, Capture the Flag and Silly Relays. Although this was a house competition, it was much more about the boys enjoying themselves and working together in teams, which has been a focal point of the whole week.
During the assembly at the end of Friday afternoon, the boys talked about the activities during the week and, as well as performing some Morris Dancing and Scottish Dancing, all the boys rounded it off with a medley of traditional songs from the United Kingdom.
