October 2019: Kilvrough School Journey

News

22nd October 2019

Kilvrough: Day 4 of Year 6's School Journey
 
 
Thursday 24th October 2019
 
Welcome to the latest instalment from our Welsh adventure! It seems hard to believe that tomorrow is our final day here at Kilvrough; time certainly flies when you're having fun. We have been lucky to have sunshine pretty much all day, with absolutely no rain.
 
After another excellent night's sleep, the day began with a breakfast consisting of cereal, toast and the long-anticipated bacon rolls (which didn't disappoint!)
 
Our main activities today have been climbing, abseiling and scrambling. Many people had been apprehensive about today but everyone has tried incredibly hard, taking brave steps to scale or descend the rock faces at Southgate beach. As our climbing took place by the sea, both groups also had to take into account the fact that the tide was coming in too. All succeeded, despite getting splashed by the waves! We had some real dare-devil climbers and abseilers who wanted to go again and again. There were also some children who really smashed their fears. All of the children have been incredibly supportive of each other and the adults are immensely proud of their efforts.
 
Tonight's dinner is going to be homemade pizza, followed by angel delight. After this, we will begin drawing our school journey to a close by packing bags and tidying rooms. We are keeping our fingers crossed that there isn't too much unclaimed lost-property!
 
As tomorrow is likely to be a very busy day, we cannot guarantee a website update but you will be able to hear it all first-hand from the children on our return in the evening! Although the weather forecast isn't brilliant, we are going to be visiting the beach in the morning to do rock-pooling and sand sculpting, followed by a coastal walk. After this, we will return to Kilvrough and prepare for our return journey.
 
Quotes of the day:
 
"The surfing yesterday was really fun and everyone had a great time. Some people did abseiling today and got a little bit wet too!"  Rachel
 
"Kilvrough is a really good experience and I have especially enjoyed the body boarding."
Amelia
 
"Kilvrough is really fun, especially the body boarding yesterday." Hayden
 
"I enjoyed body boarding because the waves were really fun." Brooklyn
 
"Body boarding has been my favourite activity and I also liked the den building because it was fun working in a team with my friends." Joshua
 
"My favourite activity has been body boarding because we got to play with our friends in the sea and it was so much fun." Henry
 
"Kilvrough is a great experience to be a part of and all of the activities have been really fun." Rosalie
 
"The climbing today was great. I've really enjoyed my adventure at Kilvrough." Edward
 
"I have liked Kilvrough because it was fun climbing and abseiling down into the water." Harry
 
"Here in Kivrough it has been a great time taking part in all of the fun activities, especially the body boarding which was my favourite." Toby
 
 
Wednesday 23rd October 2019
 
Good evening from all of us here in sunny Wales!
 
Today has, yet again, been an excellent day here at Kilvrough Manor. After a busy day yesterday, everyone slept well; some children even had to be coaxed out of their comfy beds! Breakfast consisted of cereal, toast and croissants and set us up well for the day ahead.
Our main activity today has been body boarding. For this, we all travelled to Llangennith beach - which is about twenty minutes from Kilvrough. The children were very impressed with the stunning setting and enjoyed the journey along the idyllic Gower peninsular. The free-roaming sheep were great to see too!
At the beach, we were taught the basics of body boarding and then went in the water to put the skills into action. Apart from having an amazing time in the water, some very skilled body boarders quickly emerged! Although the sea was relatively calm, there were still some great waves - for those quick enough to catch them! So much fun was had that no one wanted to get out of the water at the end - definitely the mark of a brilliant activity.
Tonight we are looking forward to chicken casserole for tea, followed by a night walk to the ruins of Pennard Castle. There is little doubt that we will all sleep well again tonight, ready for a day of climbing tomorrow.
 
Quotes from today:
 
"Today we did body boarding and it was fun. The food is good - my favourite was lasagne." Leo
 
"Kilvrough is a lot bigger than I thought it would be but I am happy with all my groups and I am enjoying the trip." Kyra
 
"Body boarding today was really, really fun. We learned to change directions and ride a wave with no hands!" Danielle
 
"The food here is nicer than I expected and I'm enjoying all of the activities. We had to wear funny hats today for body boarding to keep warm. I really enjoyed it!" Caitlyn
 
"For me, Kilvrough is really fun and I am enjoying sharing a room with all my friends. I really like all the activities and the food is nice too." Maxine
 
"The food is very nice and the beds are comfy at Kilvrough. I have enjoyed body boarding today because it was fun spending time in the sea with my friends." Harvey
 
 
Tuesday 22nd October 2019
 
Hello from Year 6!
 
Our first full day at Kilvrough Manor has been action-packed and full of adventure. We began the day with a hearty breakfast, after which the nervously-awaited room inspections took place. Luckily, Mill Lane were ahead of the game and the rooms were mostly in tip-top shape - let's hope this continues! Dusting, vacuuming, bed-making and bin-emptying all happened without complaints. Some children even performed songs to earn extra points.
 
The main activity for both of Mill Lane's groups today was canoeing. We all travelled by minibus to the Neath canal, near Swansea. Everyone was paired-up and, after learning some of the basics, we all embarked on a journey down the canal, passing under bridges, over an aqueduct and eventually down to a lock. On the journey, there were challenges to do - including playing 'Heads, shoulders, knees and toes" whilst stood up on the boats (not easy!) We mostly proved ourselves as capable sailors, although there were a few capsized boats en route - including Lilly and Mrs Hiley (who has previously stayed dry in this activity for the past fifteen years!!) Despite this, we all had great fun and are looking forward to our water activities tomorrow - when we will ALL get wet!
 
For our evening meal, we were served a delicious meal of lasagne and garlic bread, followed by jelly and ice cream. Everyone has had excellent appetites so far.
 
We finished the day with some den building in the dark which was great fun. After this, we wrote letters home - which should hopefully arrive in Chinnor before we do with any luck.
 
 
Here are some quotes from today. Look out for more in tomorrow's update:
 
"It was really funny when me and Ruby were in our canoe trying to turn around and in the end we had to get up and face the other way! I'm looking forward to rock climbing on Thursday." Louise
 
"It was funny when the room inspectors came in and we started dancing to earn extra points." Ruby
 
"I really liked canoeing but I almost fell in. I was very close. It was really amazing." Jack
 
"I'm looking forward to rock climbing and the trip is going well so far, despite me falling in the canal (and taking Mrs Hiley with me!)." Lilly
 
"I'm glad that the trip is going really well. I am looking forward to bodyboarding tomorrow." Hayden
 
"I'm glad that I came because it has been fun so far. Today we have been doing canoeing and in the evening we were den building." George