Into the Swing

To ease them into the Harrodian swing of things, our 11s/ Year 7 pupils – nearly half of them new to the school – enjoyed three team-building days in Shropshire.

Condover Hall (above), a Grade 1 listed Elizabethan manor house set amongst beautiful grounds, was the chosen location for this year's annual 11s expedition. With an ideal combination of outdoor and indoor adventurous activities, it is not surprising that the venue is the flagship activity centre set for JCA Adventure, the company that ran this trip with the assistance of 9 accompanying Harrodian staff.

Experts in outdoor learning, JCA designed a range of activities that really challenged and encouraged our 11s pupils to extend their development. These included kayaking, high ropes courses, tunnelling, abseiling, archery, raft building and mini-Olympics. 

The two-night trip also provided an opportunity for new and existing pupils to integrate, build strong bonds and forge friendships. A great team spirit was generated by learning and achieving together but also by having less structured fun together, especially in the evenings when they were able to enjoy learning songs around the campfire, chatting in their dormitories, playing football and other games, singing and dancing at the silent disco.

Emma Gregorie, leader of the trip and 11s Head of Year, sees the three-day activity trip as an essential exercise for the year group. 'It gives the children a chance to get to know each other outside the formality of the classroom. I just loved seeing how well they got on and how they bonded as a group over the three days. My favourite part was watching them all sing, dance and laugh together at the silent disco.'

Only four weeks into Harrodian and Mateo, Edith and Phoenix seem to be taking it all in their stride. Delicious lunches, great outdoor space and lots more sports fixtures are just some of the bonuses of new school life. When it comes to the residential trip,  tunnelling and high ropes were the preferred activities but the overall highlight of the trip was the chance to make new friends. 'Everyone was really welcoming when we joined Harrodian but I did notice that there were already some solid friendship groups. The trip really changed that and many of the friendship groups now have either shuffled around a bit or expanded to include some of us newbies,' says Phoenix. 

Meanwhile Alex and Sheherazade, Harrodian pupils since Reception and PP1/Year 1 respectively, are equally enthusiastic about the trip. "I loved tunnelling and playing football in our free time,' says Alex. 'But before going on the trip, there were some new 11s that I hadn't had a chance to talk to properly yet and I was struggling to remember all their names. Three days away on this trip changed all of that. It was a great way to get to know everyone!'

The silent disco was Sheherazade's favourite part, 'I just loved singing and dancing with everyone at the silent disco on the last night because we all got on so well,' she smiles, expanding after a pause: 'The trip was like the start of a whole new chapter at Harrodian. Before we left, all the changes felt slightly overwhelming.  But now we are back from having had a great time away, it all feels exciting. I went for a sleepover at the weekend with a new friend who just joined the school. That might not have happened if we hadn't got to know each other at Condover Hall.'