Year 4 Adventure Trip to Huairou

In early November, Ms Wei and Mr Cameron took ten Year 4 pupils on a 3-day residential trip to Huairou. Here are their experiences from the trip. DAY ONE We departed school at 0830hrs and traveled on the school bus to Beijing then onto Huairou where our guide for the trip Ms Haena met with us. We arrived at the destination at 1300hrs and we headed straight for a delicious hot lunch at the canteen area of the campus. After filling our tummies and stretching our legs we went to the campsite where the pupils were shown how to construct their own tents that we all would be using. Then, we headed over to the forest to begin our training about how to create a survival shelter using sticks, leaves and stones. The children all did a great job and worked in different teams. For the evening, we had a tasty dinner from the barbeque. After we ate our meal, we roasted marshmallows on the fire and did some dancing that Ms Haena taught us. We then headed back to our tents to brush our teeth and get ready to head to bed for the night. Despite being cold, we stayed warm in our sleeping bags. DAY TWO We arose early to prepare for the day. Firstly, we had a very enjoyable breakfast and then headed down to the riverside to create rafts. The pupils were split into two teams and had the task of using bamboo, rope, and barrels to create a raft that would float (and hopefully carry them too) in water! They worked well together and created rafts that did float, but then tipped over! After this we had a quick lunch, then got on the bus to the Via Ferrata. It was a fantastic challenge and all the pupils showed a lot of courage to complete the challenging course. I was very proud of them for that. Afterwards, we headed back to the campsite, dismantled our tents and went into our cabins for the evening to quickly freshen up before dinner. We had another lovely meal then the pupils had some journal work to complete. For the last part of the evening, the pupils had an hour of free time to relax after a hectic and enjoyable day! DAY THREE It was another early rise for us all. We packed our cases and headed for a quick breakfast then off to the Great Wall of China. The bus took us to the Mu Tian Yu section of the Great Wall and we climbed up what felt like 10,000 steps to the top. When we arrived, we did some wall rubbings and created some Chinese Calligraphy. After the activities we all made our way down the wall and back on the bus. When the bus arrived in Beijing city area we had the lovely surprise of McDonalds waiting for us to eat on the bus. During the journey home, some of us slept as we were all exhausted from a very busy, tiring but enjoyable time. Well done to all the pupils who represented the school properly and I was delighted with the Wellington Values that they exhibited throughout the whole trip!