We had an excellent journey down this morning – a brief scenic stop at Leigh Delamere services but otherwise straight through. 

On arrival, the children met Dylan, our Course Director for the week. Dylan and his colleagues read out the dormitory list, and the children got acquainted with their rooms and facilities. ‘Unpacking’ is perhaps an over-polite way of describing what happened next, but clothes certainly found their way out of bags… and some duvet covers made it more or less onto the duvet.

Lunch was at around 1.00pm, after the children had been divided into their ‘work groups’ for the week.

The afternoon was spent on various outdoor team-building activities on the site, which enabled the children to find their bearings and work together on various simple problem-solving tasks, and get to know the beautiful grounds surrounding the house. 

Dinner was served at 6.00pm. Great chicken goujons (better than nuggets!) and well-cooked chips, followed by apple crumble and custard.  Everyone ate well and the conversation was animated.

Tonight saw the children undertake a photo-orienteering exercise. They headed out in groups of three, trying to identify landmarks from grainy photos.  We find this to be a really useful introductory activity, and the darkness makes it a considerable challenge.

After a short chillout session and a few questions about tomorrow, everyone made it upstairs for 9.20pm, and as we write (9.45pm), the house is quiet. 

Your children have been their usual happy hard-working selves and are looking forward to the range of activities on offer tomorrow. 

Best wishes from us all here. 

Dr Loader, Mrs Salmons, Mrs Robins, Mrs Pepper and Mr Coates.