YEAR 9 CAMP 

Muddy, Slippery, Wet Fun!

We arrived at the first year 9 camp on a very rainy and cold Monday, and were invited in to a very muddy, slippery and wet set of games. Afterwards, we huddled around the indoor fire as we were put in our groups and played some introductory, get-to-know-you games. 

After an almost sleepless night of talking, and being told to go to sleep, we woke – wearily – to even heavier rain and stronger winds than the day before. It was decided that it was too dangerous to do any of the planned activities or even to go outside, so we stayed inside playing trivia and other games for the day. It was a bit annoying but we still had fun together. 

By five o'clock that night we had lost our electricity connections. We ate dinner by torchlight as the power was still out, but we were still able to watch a movie using their generator. No lights made it a great night to play games in the cabins as the dark meant more fun – however it began to get very cold in the night without the heating.

                                                                                                      On our last day we used the morning to catch up on some of the most important activities which we had missed the day before. My group did the high ropes course.  Once we got over the fact that our camp had been a bit restricted by the weather we still had a great time.

James Reardon

Year 9

                                                                                                    The second Year 9 camp started with the word cheese. A few quick photos and some ham and cheese rolls to put an end to the seemingly endless bus ride, in which several rap battle geniuses were born and several unsuspected singers emerged. Mingling began with friends from the first camp as soon as they returned from their ventures into orienteering.

Throughout the camp, groups had the chance to take part in the water course, high ropes, leap of faith, nature walk, giant see saw and many other smaller activities. Possibly the cruellest of them all, the water course, forced students to cross over a body of water holding ropes. If you made it to the other side successfully, you still had to get back somehow, a prospect which was daunting to many.

Other activities forced the students to challenge themselves and push their boundaries in things like the high ropes and leap of faith. The philosophy of the camp and the underlying message that students were told was, challenge by choice. If a student didn't wish to do something they feared then they didn't have to. It was up to them to challenge themselves, whether that meant to stand on top of the leap of faith or simply make it to the top.

All in all the camp was an amazing experience for all. The chance to have interactions with others in a different light was something to be truly treasured. It is not every day that you get to challenge yourself to the point of your personal boundaries. With your friends by your side, both new and old, there really was no greater place to be.

Aidan Hurst

Year 9