| Year 4
Following our departure from Sherborne House and an enthusiastic and cheerful coach journey, Year 4 arrived at beautiful, sunny New Barn Field Centre for our first residential! Although some of the children were slightly apprehensive about their first residential and first time away as a year group, the children have had an amazing time and learnt so much!
After an initial introduction to the site and a health and safety talk to get used to our new surroundings, the children were happy to finally find out whom they would be sharing their dorm with! Following lunch (including Zaki’s giant Liverpool birthday cake!), we were straight into our first activity – team building including wilderness survival skills and bush crafts.
The children enjoyed making fire using basic tools from the Anglo-Saxon era and they had the opportunity to construct a shelter using surrounding materials. Their shelter had to be big enough to fit them all in, it had to be waterproof and it had to be free standing and sturdy! We were then introduced to the local wildlife – including; sheep, goats, wild boar, chickens and alpacas. Ending the day with a hot chocolate, a biscuit and a story before bedtime.
On a misty morning, the children enjoyed a hearty cooked breakfast to set them up for the busy day ahead. They started their day with an energetic orienteering challenge around the site, testing their map reading skills using a key and legend, their teamwork and communication skills. They thoroughly enjoyed this activity and did a fantastic job of finding the letter codes! The children then designed and made their own Dutch arrows and had a go at throwing them to see who could get theirs the furthest (whilst trying to avoid the animals!).
Following lunch, the children were transported back in time to the Anglo-Saxon times and they started a great afternoon of Living History activities with the resident historian, Saxon Dave! The children completed three different traditional daily chores including: butter making, wheat grinding and poultice making using local and natural ingredients. The children learnt that poultice was the Anglo-Saxon forerunner of both Savlon and Germolene. The children finished their Living History day with chalk carving, using Anglo-Saxon runes, and a campfire BBQ. The children then enjoyed an engaging professional storyteller who told them an enchanting tale of Beowulf.
On our final day, the children enjoyed their final hearty breakfast of their residential, looking forward to a final day ahead of coming home to tell their families all about their adventures. Our final treat at New Barn Field was a morning of zorbing! The children had a fantastic time, taking it in turns to use the zorbs. Feeling very tired, the children were ready to make their way back to school on a very quiet coach trip back.