Year 6 Little Canada Trip 2019

Year 6 Residential Trip to the Isle of Wight (PGL)

Day 1

It was a gentle start to the Year 6 trip today with everyone arriving at school for breakfast before setting off on the journey to Portsmouth.  Luckily for us, it was a smooth road trip and we arrived slightly ahead of schedule.  A little while later, it was time for us to board the ferry which would take us to Fishbourne.  It was with great excitement that the children rushed up the stairs to find a good place where they could take in the sea views as the ferry left the mainland and headed south for the Isle of Wight.  The excitement was also enhanced by the fact that it was lunchtime!  It wasn’t long before we had reached our destination and then it was a short, ten-minute trip to the PGL site in Wootton Creek.  We were greeted by our ‘Groupies’ for the week, Kieron and Eden, and once our bags and suitcases were off the coach, it was time for the fun to begin!  We had a tour of the site to help us orientate our surroundings and learnt some new, fun songs along the way.  We also spent some time creekside, before it was time to find out who we would be sharing a room with.  Joyous cheers could be heard as names were called and everyone raced off to settle into their new ‘home’ for the rest of the week.  After some settling-in time, it was time for dinner – with tasty chicken curry and rice or fish fingers, chips and peas/beans being the favourite choice, followed by a sweet, jam doughnut.  The evening activity made certain that everyone got to burn off all the extra energy; it was Sports Night which entailed games of Dodgeball, Scatterball and Ultimate Frisbee.  Lots of running around meant that when the time came at 9.00pm, everyone was looking forward to getting back to their rooms to settle for the night.  A good first day and, hopefully, with a good night’s sleep, everyone should be up bright and early, looking ahead to a full day of activities. Photos to follow tomorrow!

Day 2

We awoke to a bright, sunny morning, having had a restful night’s sleep.  At 8.00 am, we trooped up to the cafeteria, all set for a hearty breakfast of cereal, porridge, bacon, veggie sausage, hash browns, spaghetti hoops, toast, fresh fruit and yogurt.

Everyone was excited for their day of activities: it was archery, aeroball, the challenge course and the trapeze for some and the vertical challenge for others.  Those out kayaking on the water certainly had a beautiful morning for it and much fun was had by all - once they had mastered the technique of getting the kayak to go where they wanted it to go!  There were some silly games towards the end of the session and, of course, one or two individuals ended up in the water.  All great fun!

The day was broken up with a leisurely lunch of jacket potato with a choice of fillings and salad, beef madras curry and rice, followed by a selection of fresh fruit.  The afternoon was a rotation of the morning's activities, and after some downtime playing football or socialising with friends, it was time for the evening meal.  Pasta and meatballs, cottage pie or vegetable kiev were this evening's choices, followed by carrot cake or fresh fruit.  Everyone ate well before heading off for the evening activity, 'Splash', and although the name implied the involvement of water, no snorkles, goggles or flippers were required!  Here's to another good night's sleep!

Day 3

It was a lovely, sunny start to the day, but after a full day of activity yesterday, the children were a little more sleepy this morning.  However, after a hot shower and a tasty breakfast, everyone soon perked up and went off happily to their activities for the day.  Today, it was a round of Jacob’s Ladder, the Vertical Challenge, Kayaking, the Matrix, Archery, Problem Solving, the Trapeze, Buggy Building, Giant Swing and Orienteering.  So much adventure in just one day!  After a busy, but fun-filled day, and a delicious dinner of lasagne or chicken nuggets and chips, we ended with Wacky Races as our evening activity.  The races and games played were somewhat out of the ordinary, with a ‘mini chicken and giant egg race’ and ‘shoe golf’!  Great fun was had by all participating enthusiastically in their teams.  What a lovely day everyone has had, all helped by the radiant sunshine!  It’s hard to believe that tomorrow will be our last full day at PGL.  Where has the time gone?  Hopefully, the sun will continue to shine tomorrow! 

Day 4

And shine it did!  Another day of fantastic weather!  Blue skies, warm, but not too hot.  Everyone slept well last night and, when everyone eventually surfaced, had a good breakfast to get going.  It was another round of stimulating and challenging activities to test and develop the children's skills of communication and team work, not to mention their resilience and perseverance.  Again, it was lovely to see the children's sense of achievement as they climbed higher than they imagined they ever could and to conquer their own individual fears.  After all the exertion of today's activities, the children were happy to retire to their cabins for a while or to play with friends before getting ready for the highly-anticipated disco.  All spruced up and ready to dance, the disco fever could barely be contained!  The children had a great time dancing the evening away to some of their favourite tunes.  Sadly, all good things come to an end and packing awaits in readiness for our departure tomorrow.  Hopefully, the children will return with lots of amusing stories to tell and with memories made that they will remember forever.  See you soon!