Back in November last year we announced a competition to win a free andadventurous 4 night residential course in Snowdonia for school groups, courtesy of the generous support from Boulder Adventures. Today (25th March) the winners of the competition, Tudor Grange Academy(TGA),are heading over to Wales with 12 pupil premium studentsto commence their expedition!
When applying to the competition, Chris from TGA told us about the difference a trip lke this could make:
"The project is designed for Year 8, 9 and 10 Pupil Premium students who either have low confidence or have poor peer influences. We are looking for opportunities to realign their expectations of themselves and instil a 'can do' attitude and sense of achievement and self worth. Half the group will be those who have yet to gain any reward or sanction and so are largely overlooked in the school community - We want this to then springboard these students as leaders inthe school. wewant to find a way to give these students the experiences they deserve."
Based in Llanberis, Snowdonia, Boulder Adventures are perfectly located for adventures of all shapes and sizes. We couldn't wait to hear about the trip after TGA return, so we got an inside scoop of the activities they'll be taking part in this week:
Monday- After their arrival earlier today, pupils are getting thrown straight in at the deep end. unless their raft holds! One of our favourite past times is gathering friends round and putting our heads together to see who can come up with the strongest raft, well now Tudor Grange Academy pupils will get to experience that for themselves in an attempt to build the best raft to keep them safe and dry. After a quick bite to eat this evening, they'll wait until the sun sets and set off into the night to see what creatures can be found.
Tuesday- An action packed day out (so we hope pupils get a good nights sleep). They'll be up early for a big feed at breakfast and heading out to whichever crag picks their fancy that day. With an intro to climbing, they'll be 'shown the ropes' and away they go. Following a well needed packed lunch after flashinga few easy E8s (okay, maybe a little ambisious on a first day on rock, but you never know!), the TGA pupils will be swapping the harness and chalk for a boat and paddle as they head onto the water for an afternoon canoe session. Back in time for tea and a good nights rest.
Wednesday- After a day of getting used to being on rock, pupils are in for a big day filled with technical scrambles through a gorge and a crash course in mountain skills. They'll tackle wet rocks and the power of water as they head up the gorge, climbing jumping and swimming can only be expected. With this being a first real taste of the Welsh wilderness, we've all been reminicing about our own introduction to the outdoors and the benefits it can bring. Introducing pupils who wouldn't normally get these kind of experiences can be extremely impactfuland at the Alpkit Foundation, we couldn't be happier in helping to support TGA as they take potentially life altering steps and experience moments they'll never forget.
Thursday- As it turns out, Wednesday is just the training day. After 3 days of adventures, building as a team and having learned all sorts of new skills to play in the mountains, today is the day the TGA will put all those experiences and new skills into real practice with a big mountain day. They'll be up at the crack of dawn and head out on technical terrain, scrambles and climbs, navigating their way across rivers and around lakes. We have no doubt that this is the day they'll remember the most and, after a final dinner of telling adventurous tales and Daring Deeds from the week, how could anyone forget!?
It goes without saying that we're all rather envious of the adventure the Tudor Grange Academy pupils are embarking on, and it's getting us thinking about where we might end up exploring for ourselves this summer.
Keep an eye out for the next installment to hear about how the pupils got on duringthe trip, this has been a little insider info, but who knows where each day will take them and how the adventure (as they often do) might take some unexpected turns.