Year 7 & 8 Activities Week 2022

It’s been a very must week for Year 7 and 8, both experiencing their first proper taste of what Activities Week at Bethany is like.

On Monday we Buzz Active at Cuckmere to take part in a number of outdoor activities. The weather was stunning as was the picturesque nature of the location, well worth the one hour and a half bus journey to get there.

The two year groups were split into four groups and spent the day rotating around three activities. Pupils took part in stand-up-paddleboarding, and it was genuinely impressive how easy some of them made it look. Although given the temperature, none were too disappointed to take a quick dip if they fell off!

They also had the opportunity to have a go at kayaking a little further down the river and once they had got the hang of steering them, they were challenged to swap kayaks out on the water and race back to the jetty. 

To finish the day, or indeed start the day for some of them as groups all did the activities in a different order, pupils took part in orienteering where the onus was placed upon them to read a map and navigate their groups through the forest to locate a number of markers. Teamwork played a vital role in this activity and pupils worked well to complete the task. Upon reaching the summit of a nearby hill at the foot of the South Downs way some of the pupils were graced with a Spitfire flyby, we could have timed it better!

By 5PM the day was sadly over and all that was left was to travel back to Bethany. We suspect quite a few may now have found quite a liking for paddleboarding and may well be pestering parents to have another go over the summer break.

“Cuckmere was amazing since there was a lot of fun stuff going on and I tried something new.”

On Tuesday pupils headed to Bedgebury for some teamwork challenges.  We started with agreeing a team name, and there were some interesting choices such as an homage to the Mandarin text book, ‘Jin Bu 10’ and the inspired ‘Group 3’.  A walk in the pinetum and forest tested their observation skills with a quiz and scavenger hunt; the pupils commented they especially liked learning about the environment and being able to take care of it with a litter pick.  The other part of the day involved teamwork, communication and leadership skills where pupils worked as a team to navigate the play equipment with added challenges such as transporting water, not touching the ground or being blindfolded. 

The pupils enjoyed the independence involved and proved themselves to be excellent representatives of the school.  Special thanks to the staff running the activities: Mr Beckham, Mr Hampton, Mrs Harper, Mr Henson, Mrs Rowell, Mrs Sturrock, Mr Thomas Ms Zhao – their energy and enthusiasm made the day a great success.  The teachers awarded points for how well teams worked together, communicated and shared leadership.  The winning team was ‘Forest Finders’ who approached all challenges with a collectively positive mindset.

“Bedgebury was fun since I just had fun and I learnt how to communicate and cooperate with great teamwork.” 

Wednesday saw the pupils take charge to plan an end of year event – cooking lunch, decorating the hall, providing entertainment and organising games.  They absolutely did themselves proud and put on a thoroughly enjoyable event with an incredible buffet, skits, dances, party games, face painting and team games.  What a fabulous end to a wonderful year.