A pleasant  trip in a very luxurious coach to Portsmouth; a delightful 40 minutes on the Isle of Wight ferry, having lunch and admiring the view, and a short journey upon arrival, we arrived at Kingswood. Daisy chains were made, cartwheels were executed, games of chase took place. We were then given a tour of the Centre and shown to our warm and welcoming accommodation. Beds were made, children changed out of uniforms and organised warm up activities began. An early supper was consumed with delight, followed by further  activities. Tired and happy, we enjoyed a Movie Night ( Spider-Man), a hot chocolate and bed!

Wednesday began with inclement weather which happily did not last too long. However, fortified by a huge English breakfast and suitably attired, the children set off to start their busy day. There are three groups and they rotated around and enjoyed  many and varied activities: Obstacle Challenge , Aeroball, Tech Team, Abseiling, Lazer, Nightline, Leap of Faith, Problem Solving and finally a  Campfire before bedtime. Communication, team building and having fun were implicit in all of the activities.

The main excitement of day 3 was undoubtedly the Bodyboarding on the beautiful beach.  Learning how to don a wetsuit with speed and grace was character-building in itself.

After returning to hot showers and a hearty lunch the children had a wonderful afternoon.  They were launched into the air on the 3G swing and shot at by laser guns.

On the tamer side, they built buggies, problem solved and learned some archery skills.  The day was rounded off with some birthday cake and a ‘Scrap Heap Challenge’

The children woke up on Friday, sad to be leaving.  They were kept busy all morning learning the graceful art of fencing.  Our bus home had been delayed on the mainland, but ever ready to find a silver lining, we took the opportunity to enjoy a picnic lunch in the sunshine and a play on the beautiful beach.

43 tired but happy parents were delivered back to their waiting parents eager to share their stories and triumphs.

In the children’s own words:

‘Bodyboarding was great. I’m going to do it again soon’ Rory 5F

‘The Isle of Fun has lifted me off the ground’ Ahaan 4G

‘Faith really came to me at the right time in the Leap of Faith’ Edward 5F

‘Problem-solving was fun.  We all worked as a team.  Those who were more confident helped the others become more confident’ Oscar 6E

‘All of the activities were amazing!’Leonardo 5F

‘I’ve never had this much fun’ Ines 5F

‘Sitting around the campfire made me feel like part of a family’ Daniel 5F

‘I haven’t stopped smiling!’ Ilias 4G