Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96the freezing water. It was also a joy to see the willingness of the staff to get involved. By the end of the day, the whinging had become encouragement. On the last day of activities, the children had the choice to ‘capture the flag,’ orienteer, go for a walk up Dovedale or do drama activities. The Dovedale walk included a visit to the ancient castle and even older, yet still awe-inspiring, caverns where water dripped from stalagtites like spring rain. The hiking was a first time for many students so it was difficult but this set up the children for future camping and hiking activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh award. The enjoyment of nature was more than worth it. The castle was also a fun trip, with the medieval toilet becoming the star attraction and absolute chaos in the gift shop. Whilst the day was dedicated to trying new things and overcoming challenges the evening became a social gathering and gaining a sense of belonging and identity. Every evening after dinner the children are put into their Houses instead of forms like last year. Together they partook in things like bread baking, beaded gecko making, egg launch, and bag decorating. There was no sense of competition in these activities this year, but it is planned for next year to encourage Year 7 to take part in House activities. Their dorm groups were assigned in order to mix up the form groups. There was also an hour of free time before bed. This set up in the trip really helped the children to bond. By midweek, students from the prep school and those from external primary schools got to know each other and made new friends as well as acquiring a form identity and a house identity. By the end all separation and nervousness disappeared. Everyone was knocking in together. Ilam Hall is such a brilliant introduction to a new chapter of life. In a word, the trip was ‘uniting’. M y f a v o u r i t e m e m o r y w a s a b s e i l i n g . W e w e r e n e r v o u s b u t w e m a d e e a c h o t h e r l a u g h a n d t h a t g o t u s o v e r o u r f e a r s a n d fi n i s h t h e d e s c e n t . M y f a v o u r i t e m o m e n t w a s t h e r e w a r d i n g f e e l i n g I h a d w h e n I fi n i s h e d t h e s c r a m b l i n g w i t h o n e h a n d ! W h e n w e w e r e o n o u r r a f t b u t e v e r y t i m e w e p a d d l e d w e s a n k s l i g h t l y s o i t b e c a m e a m a d f r e n z y o f r o w i n g a n d s i n k i n g ! A t i m e n e v e r t o f o r g e t . I g o t l o s t i n m y D u v e t c o v e r ! 2015 To 2016 | 13