Over 120 Year six pupils from Horbury Primary Academy have enjoyed Residential Outdoor Adventure Courses as part of their school curriculum this year thanks to costs being paid for by parents and supplementary payments from Horbury based Daniel Gaskell Foundation and the Rotary Club of Horbury and Ossett Phoenix Charitable Trusts. Head Teacher James Tucker said, “The extra financial help provided by the two Horbury Charities made the courses available to all our Year 6 pupils and made sure that the educational and social benefits were appreciated by everyone”.
Deputy Head Julie Yarnold explained that all the pupils spent 2 and a half days under the supervision of teachers and skilled instructors at The Waterparks Centre, Coniston in the Lake District learning to sail, kayak, climb, ghyll walking, and taking part in team building activities. The courses are designed to help them prepare for moving on to senior schools whilst broadening their knowledge and experience of outdoor adventures. The feedback from all pupils to teachers and parents alike was unanimously positive as shown in the examples below:-
- "I love this place - I had the best 3 days ever! My favourite experience was ghyll scrambling as I will never do that again. The natural slides in the ghyll were amazing!" N
- "I was really nervous about going on residential. I enjoyed all the activities. My favourite was canoeing. All the staff were friendly and helpful. The food was amazing especially the hot chocolate!" P
"I really enjoyed paddle boarding and team hide and seek!" R - "All the activities at the Water Park are so exciting. My favourite was ghyll scrambling, I loved getting wet!" T
- "Residential was the best experience of my life! I built amazing teamwork skills and my favourite activities were ghyll scrambling and high ropes. I also enjoyed team hide and seek in the dark!" D
- "I am so proud of myself. I did so many exciting activities, I took lots of risks and had an amazing time!" N
- "I liked the activities and opportunities which I experienced at Water Park. They made me so proud of my achievements. All the activities were awesome and they gave me opportunities that not everyone gets in their lifetime." M
- "At residential I loved ghyll scrambling the most! Water Park is an amazing experience and all the instructors are so nice. They helped me to understand how to do other things myself like washing up whilst teaching me new experiences outdoors." M
Photos: Horbury Primary pupils experiencing canoe and climbing at Waterparks Centre, Coniston:
Click on any photo to see an enlarged view of them all.
