Year 7 Camp Out Trip

27 May 2022

In March we took 80 students over to The Oaks Campsite near Loughborough for our Year 7 Campout. It was a long and tiring weekend but extremely enjoyable for everyone involved. As soon as students arrived, we got stuck straight in and our first mission was to get the tents put up. Luckily, we’d already had a practice session and so (most of) the tents were up quickly and ready to be slept in.

Over the weekend we all had chance to take part in a wide variety of activities from our jam-packed itinerary. Students traversed their way through the adventure trail, tried to stay upright on the mountain board, monkeyed around on the bouldering wall and tried not to get lost in the Black Hole.

A particular favourite of mine was the Andy Goldsworthy Art Challenge. Students were tasked with creating a piece of artwork using only the natural materials around them. Leaves, twigs, stones, cones, petals and even recycled materials were used to create all manner of designs.

Mrs Lane, Miss Tickle and I provided all the tasty food to keep us going throughout the trip. The biggest arguments arose when staff and students were discussing what you should put on your French toast: icing sugar/syrup or brown sauce/ketchup. It was tense at times but the impromptu survey showed the camp was split well and truly down the middle!

We were very fortunate with the weather during the trip although the mornings were very cold! Some hot chocolate quickly sorted that and we were ready for the day’s activities.

There were some trying times for some of our campers as it was their first experience of being away from home or of camping but spirits remained high and everyone got stuck in with lots of enthusiasm. Overall, the campsite staff, the Ivanhoe staff team and I were all so very impressed with everyone who joined us for the trip. There were some fantastic teamwork and leadership skills on show, many students demonstrating brilliant resilience and all having a great time.

  Mr Stevenson.

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