School has been a noticeably different place this week, with the whole of Upper School absent for the majority of it, on the first residential trips of the school year. Residential trips are a vital part of co-curricular life at St Christopher’s, with the chance to take learning out of the classroom and into a wide variety of different environments, whilst having fun spending time away with your friends and getting to try new activities.
In this digital age, you are only a few clicks away from looking at Lulworth Cove or Durdle Door on Google Earth. They are, however, far more impressive and rewarding in real life, especially if you’ve had a trek through some interesting weather to reach them. History on the page can be blood-curdling and dramatic, but there is nothing like standing on the spot where important events actually – or indeed allegedly – happened as you learn about them.
This has been the experience for our Year 7 and 8 children this week, staying at Leeson House Field Centre in Dorset, a former manor house, school, and secret wartime research station, supposedly with a resident ghost! Year 7 covered History and Science, with Corfe Castle followed by a visit to the world famous Etches Collection to see the famous giant plesiosaur discovered a few years back, and the chance to follow in Mary Anning’s footsteps finding their own fossils at Kimmeridge Bay. Year 8 explored the similarly renowned Tank Museum at Bovington, looking at the background to their study of World War One poetry in English, and completed a variety of Geography fieldwork activities along the Jurassic Coast. There will be full accounts of the trip, written by members of the two year groups, next week.
Alongside all the educational benefits, Upper School residential trips develop the resilience required to spend longer periods of time away from home, the independence to pack a bag or make a bed, as well as helping to bond the children as a group in ways not possible during the normal school day. Later on this year, Year 7 will immerse themselves in the French language and culture (not to mention food) whilst staying in their very own chateau for a week, and Year 8 will return to the Dorset coast for their Leavers’ Trip after their exams. This time, the emphasis will be purely on fun and creating some last great memories of their time with us before they go their separate ways.
Years 5 and 6 have their own short residential visits to look forward to as part of Trips Week in the Summer Term, where they have a tantalising taster of the adventures that await them in Upper School.
At St Christopher’s, learning outside the classroom, and in places far from school, begins in Pre-Prep. In today’s Newsletter, you can see what fun Year 2 had exploring and learning at the beach last Friday, and Year 1 were at Build A Bear only yesterday!
Elizabeth Lyle, Head