Activities Week for Year 10
Activities week has always been the highlight of the year, and this year, the theme for us Year 10s was work-related experience, in which we took part in some very engaging and insightful activities.
To start the week off, we made our way to King’s Church in Amersham for two sessions with The Inspirational Learning Group. On the first day, we took part in the National Careers Challenge for Gymshark, a big clothing brand, in which we focused on creating a sustainable product campaign and presented our ideas (and some very entertaining live adverts) to our teachers. On the second day, we took part in the Stocks and Shares challenge, in which we were given £10,000 and, using news sources and information, we tried to grow this money as much as we could. During these two days, we learnt an immense amount of skills such as problem solving, product design, teamwork, presentation skills and sustainability awareness, whilst also building necessary business skills, which haven’t had much importance in our lives so far.
The next day was one of the most exciting days of the week with the UK Military School. On this day, with our group leaders, we focused on leadership, strategic thinking, and determination through many fun activities, whilst also hearing fascinating accounts of the leaders' decades of experience in the armed forces. We took part in many activities, such as mental challenges, but also activities like the slip ‘n slide, the inflatable obstacle course and the highlight of the day: the tug of war.
Thursday brought us the Talk the Talk challenge by the Jack Petchey Foundation. Through this, we developed our communication skills and our interview skills with our friendly group leaders through simple tasks such as not stuttering when introducing a friend, or being clear in describing an image so that you can guide someone through drawing it. It was an insightful day that helped improve our communication while targeting issues with our communication skills.
Last but not least, our week ended with what we had all been waiting for: our trip to Thorpe Park! It was a beautiful day compared to the rain earlier in the week, and we all split up with our friends, going on as many rides as we could. We arrived early and made a beeline straight for 'Stealth'. From 0 to 80 mph in nearly 1.8 seconds was one of the best ways to start the morning! After catching our breath, we wandered over to the 'Tidal Wave', where we got absolutely drenched, bought some ice cream and then braced ourselves for 'Saw and Hyperia'. This day was the perfect blend of thrills, screams, and lots of laughs, bringing the brilliant week to a close as we went home for half term.
Writing: Alexander (Year 10)
Editing: Luke (Year 12)
