Another day in the beautiful setting of Edgmond Hall.... and we are not letting the rain dampen our spirits! We were up at 7am, and once we had brushed our teeth, got dressed and made our beds, we headed down stairs to give out rewards for yesterday, set up the tables and of course, eat breakfast. This morning, we started with cereal and then had yummy pano chocolate pastry (those that couldn't have this had special pancakes), as well as some juice, milk or water depending on what children could have. A huge well done to:

Sleeping Lions: Ekam, William, Tyra, Harmani

Brave Birds: Avani Sehjal, Jacob, Peter, Sienna

Stars of the Day: Leeya, Ekam, Alfie, Imaani

After breakfast, the children split into groups to go and meet and feed the chickens and goats at Edgmond Hall.

Following this, groups split up to do either Archery, Fencing or the blind line. One group went to a remote part of the land to learn the skill of Archery. Children had a safety demonstration and were supported to aim their arrow at the target. We had a few bulls eye shots, from both children and staff! Everyone had a great time and shown excellent form when holding their bow and arrow, we were very impressed.

In the other group, children learnt all about the origins of Fencing and how it is an Olympic sport. Did you know, modern fencing originated in the 18th century in the Italian school of fencing of the Renaissance and was then improved by the French school. The children were kitted up with masks, body armour and a sword! ... a foam sword of course. They practised the en guarde position which fencers use to stay stable, and then practiced forwards and backwards movements. Children then were taught how to 'lunge' forward and attack. As well as this, children learnt the perry and repost tactic of defending, using their sword to deflect their opponent. Finally, children got to apply all the skills they had learnt by having a duel with their opponent where they were scored on their form and use of the taught techniques. The children had a superb time as well as lots of fun!

The other group were put to the test by doing a Blind Line walk. Our most used sense was taken away (sight) and children had to rely on listening and communication to follow the blind line safely. There were a number of obstacles on the way which stimulated the senses. Clear instructions were key, as well as keeping hold of the line. Each child relied on the child in front of them to give directions as well as prepare them for any obstacles they had encountered. Children shown excellent listening, resilience and really developed their communication skills. Any of the activities the children did not do this morning, will do tomorrow morning.

At 12pm, we all got ready to have our packed lunch and had a lovely surprise visit from Mrs Connop! The children were so excited to see Mrs Connop, and our wonderful headteacher was so proud of us and everything we had achieved so far, she was particularly impressed with the resilience and ambition everyone has shown.

In the afternoon, we said goodbye to Mrs Connop and ventured into the forest and learned how to build shelters. It quickly turned into a competition where children were split into table groups and were tasked to see who could make the most waterproof and durable shelter. How did we test this? You guessed it, we poured 'rain' over the top while they were inside! Extra points were given for team work, resilience and creativity. Considering this was a very new skill to the children, they did incredibly well and are one step closer to surviving in the wild. The children had lots of fun getting their hands dirty and some getting a little bit wet when the 'rain' came. As well as this, children also had the chance to do fire lighting, using flint and steel as heat to combine with cotton wool as fuel and oxygen to turn a spark into a flame. While some struggled at first, everyone successfully made their own mini fire! Afterwards, children explored the forest to find fuel in form of dry, thin small sticks to them create their own larger fire in groups.

For dinner, we had a scrumptious vegetable curry with rice and naan and tasty ice cream, sauce and waffles. 

Again, our intention was to do the campfire this evening, however the rain has proved a barrier to this, fingers crossed we can do it tomorrow! We jiggled things around a bit and did the gift shop and had a games night. 

Sweet dreams from Edgmond Hall, our penultimate day tomorrow... time is flying here!

** some pictures will be uploaded tonight and some will be uploaded tomorrow.

Edgmond Hall 2024 - Day 3