Form 3 End Summer Term with Camping Trip

Form 3 finished their Summer Term with a whole-form camping trip across three locations.

As well as spending time with their friends outside of the school environment, pupils were given an insight into the Duke of Edinburgh Award, in which Oakham School currently offers eight expeditions across the three categories of award.

Form 3 pupils are now offered the opportunity to enrol on the DofE  Bronze Award programme for the forthcoming year.

Miss Charlotte Findlay, Head of Psychology, accompanied pupils on the camp and sent us this report:

This year, the camp had three venues that students rotated between across the two days: Bulwick Estate, Wing in Rutland, and the Peak District.

Conservation

Pupils at Bulwick Estate and Wing spent half the day at each venue, with those at Bulwick Estate conducting conversation work for the estate by checking deer fences and exploring the grounds for any issues with fences and footpaths.

Pupils were given maps and developed navigational and leadership skills around the Rutland countryside, as well as sharing their own knowledge of the outdoors (eating stinging nettles fresh off the stem!).

Bushcraft Skills

Pupils at Wing had a hands-on experience developing bushcraft skills by learning how to make fires without a lighter, how to use a Kelly Kettle to make hot chocolate, and how to make pancakes and popcorn with a Trangia stove.

All Form 3 returned to Wing in the evening to set up camp for the night, and this is where the 30 degree heat suddenly turned into torrential rain.

Peak District

The second day of Form 3 camp saw an early start on the coach to the Peaks (Monsal Head) where the Pendragon Project taught pupils map-reading skills before sending them off on a self-guided walk across Monsal Dale.

Some students were quick to notice the map contour lines and steep 300m elevation at the end of the walk, but all managed to climb the hill with ease.

Teamwork Challenge

After lunch, our hosts introduced our next challenge – The Hunt. Here, pupils broke into smaller groups and were tasked with finding as many capsules located in various places around Monsal Dale, within an hour. A

map showed the location of the capsules (33mm film canisters) and inside were puzzles for pupils to solve to gain more points for their team.

Alongside ‘hunting’ for capsules, each group was also being ‘hunted’ by the Pendragon team, who wore various disguises.

If they managed to catch a member of the team, points were deducted. The Hunt was an incredibly tense and exciting end to the day (for the staff too).

Two of four teams managed to avoid being caught, and the Blue team won due to their strategic approach to finding the capsules and caution with time – each minute late deducted further points.

Great fun was had by all!

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