Once school had finished on Friday, students from the Year 8 Outdoor Learning class (Character Curriculum) set off on their end of term expedition, carrying all their gear for an overnight stay at Talkin Tarn.
The expedition was the culmination of weeks of planning to get ready and prepared for the trip. With tents, cooking equipment, sleeping bags and mats as well as food organised and split within the groups, students were able to pack their rucksacks for the camp.
With last minute checks made and plenty of water drunk in preparation, the students were ready to navigate themselves to the tarn where their campsite awaited. The hot weather and the heavy rucksacks didn’t dampen spirits as the group headed towards the Dandy. They took it in turns to navigate, with plenty of stops en-route to talk about aspects of the OS map and tips on how to check their position on the map with various features.
The Dandy offered some welcome shade, and it soon began to feel like an adventure as the group headed towards the railway crossing at Brampton Station. From this point, they followed the road before taking the footpath to Talkin Tarn.
Tents were efficiently assembled in the sunshine thanks to the teamwork of each group. With sleeping mats and bags safely laid out in the inner tents and bags organised, it was soon time to get the cooking equipment out.
Pasta was on the menu! Some groups did double up the pasta rather than bringing some sauces- a lesson learned – however, no-one went hungry and once the washing up was completed attention turned to rounders thanks to a tennis ball and sticks found along the way.
There was still energy for some fun on the park and football to keep everyone occupied.
Thanks to Mr Mallinson’s fire pit, the students enjoyed marshmallows while settling down, sharing stories and chatting before heading to the tents and lights out.
It was an early start on Saturday with students enjoying their breakfast in the morning sunshine before taking the tents down and packing up ready for the walk back to school.
Departing just before 8am, the group avoided the crowds who would soon be arriving for the popular parkrun. They were soon back at school, packs off and smiling as they waited for their lift home.
The group were fantastic ambassadors for the school; showing respect, responsibility and plenty of resilience throughout the expedition!
A big thank you to Mr Mallinson for giving up his time to support the students enabling them to experience a night under the stars on the end of term expedition!
