Our Year 6 children recently ventured to the Robinwood Activity Centre in Todmorden for a two-day residential. Many pupils were braving their first night away from home but, in spite of this, went on to face their fears in a variety of exciting and daunting challenges that required them to demonstrate courage, resilience, perseverance and teamwork.
Pupils had to work together to escape ‘The Dungeon,’ a makeshift house of horrors with cobwebs, skeletons and spooky goings-on, before moving on to the ‘Piranha Pool,’ where they had to complete a series of challenges to save each other from falling into the murky depths of the water.
Several pupils conquered their fear of heights, taking a leap of faith on the trapeze, where they jumped from a platform five metres above the ground to catch a bar and swing to safety as their classmates cheered them on. They then tackled a climbing wall, both as individuals and as part of a team, and made quick work of scaling the summit.
Pupils also had the opportunity to develop their orienteering skills as they navigated their way through an indoor caving system and an outdoor adventure course (braving the snow), before taking aim at ever-decreasing circles in an archery session.
A team of experienced guides was, of course, on hand to offer pupils expert instruction and ensure their safety remained paramount during all of the activities.
Principal Clare Daddy said,
“Our pupils had the time of their lives at Robinwood, and there was understandably some reluctance to leave! The activities were perfectly designed to motivate and engage young people, and it was wonderful to see everyone working together as a team to effectively solve the puzzles and tackle the obstacles they encountered. It is clear that we have some natural-born leaders in our midst who are keen to lead by example and take on challenges with gusto, but it was equally as wonderful to see some of our more reticent pupils stepping outside of their comfort zone and really enjoying the opportunity to try new activities for the first time. I am incredibly proud of our pupils for how well they performed, especially those who overcame their fears to help their teams excel. It was a fantastic experience for everyone involved, staff included, and I am sure we will be visiting again.”