Residential
Charterhouse 2023
Thursday 29th June
An early start to the morning thanks to some of the boys being up and dressed at 4:45am!! Breakfast was pancakes, fruit, yoghurt, toast and cereal - enough to keep us going as we headed out on our morning activities.
Mrs Goodchild's group went caving, Mrs Mort's group did water sports and Mrs Birch and Mr Godfrey's group went gorge walking.
Lunch was southern fried chicken, curly fries and salad which everyone enjoyed.
In the afternoon, Mrs Goodchild's group headed for water sports, Mrs Mort's group went gorge walking and Mr Godfrey and Mrs Birch's team headed down the caves.
Our evening meal was pasta bolognaise an d garlic bread, followed by waffles and ice cream.
In the evening we headed out to the reserve to play some games.
It was a bit of a late night for all the children as there were some jokes and pranks being played.
Water Sports (Mrs G's group)
Water Sports (Mrs M's group)
Caving (Mrs G's group)
Caving (Mrs B & Mr G's group)
Gorge Walking (Mrs M's group)
Gorge Walking (Mrs B & Mr G's group)
Wednesday 28th June
We have arrived. The weather was a bit mixed and we have had some rain, which we weren't expecting. As soon as we arrived, Josh met us and gave us a tour of the centre. We had some lunch and unpacked and headed out to start our adventures. Mrs Goodchild's group headed to the gorge to climb up through the waterfalls. Mr Godfrey & Mrs Birch's group head to Cheddar Reservoir for paddle boarding and motor boat driving and Mrs Mort's group headed to the caves.
We had fish, chips and peas for tea, followed by profiteroles. The evening entertainment was disco where some shapes were certainly thrown!
I am going to up load all the photos we have taken, so apologies if some are blurry/repeated, but I thought you would all like to see how much fun we are having! We would love to hear your thoughts.
Gorge Walking
Caving
Water Sports
Evening Time
Charterhouse 2022
Thursday 30th June
Our last full day in Charterhouse. I can't quite believe how quickly the week has gone and we will be heading home tomorrow.
We've had another fun filled day with each group completing some exciting activities. Group 1 started the day trying to transport an egg safely in an exploding rocket. They then completed the fantasy trail - an obstacle course in the woods - blindfolded! In the afternoon they headed out Cheddar Reservoir for their turn at paddle boarding and power boating.
Group 2 started the morning at the Reservoir and in the afternoon went waterfall climbing through the gorge.
Group 3 went climbing this morning in the sunshine. In the afternoon they did the rocket challenge and the fantasy trail where they got VERY muddy. I apologise now for the washing that will be coming home tomorrow!
We finished the evening with a few games of bingo and toasting marshmallows on the log burner in the dining room.
A huge thank you to Mr Godfrey, Mrs Mort and Mrs Birch who have given up time with their own families to provide this experience for the children. Without the goodwill of the staff, this residential would not be able to happen.
I can honestly say it has been a brilliant week. The children have challenged themselves to do something out of their comfort zone. There have been some tears, some worries and some fears faced. But most importantly, there has been lots and lots of laughter.
Until next year....
Wednesday 29th June
Today our activities were:
Group 1: Climbing & Gorge Walking
Group 2: Caving & Archery/Low Ropes
Group 3: Water Sports & Caving.
I thought today, you have probably heard enough from me. So here are some highlights from the children instead.
'Dance until you drop when you're at a Cheddon Fitzpaine Church School disco!' - Lottie
'I like waking up to my friends in my room with me and building relationships with others.' - Harrison
'I like Charterhouse because I did archery, low ropes, caving, gorge walking. I'm having a great time.' - Oliver
'It is amazing waking up every day knowing that it is time for a new adventure to begin.' - Ellie
'It is great getting up every morning looking forward to challenges I've never experienced before.' - Freddie
'I have done things here I would never have done anywhere else. I have been challenged and accomplished so much. Also, I have learned my teachers are brilliant dancers.' - Layla
'I've had fun learning and I love waking up and feeling like there's always a challenge to overcome!' - Jack D
'I enjoyed the climbing as I made it to the top three times.' - Tyler
'I have made a bunch of great memories and new friends from Class 4. #MrsBirch' - Milly
'My favourite memory so far is when I went on a giant paddle board. We worked as a team to get to the buoy. I was the first to jump into the water.' - Emily
'It is great waking up every morning excited for a new challenge' - Jacob
Tuesday 28th June
Day two in the big brother.... I mean Charterhouse and what a day it has been. We have celebrated a birthday here (please check out the home made birthday banner and hat in the photos below) and breakfast was served to a number of birthday songs for the special birthday girl.
After breakfast (sausages, hash browns, toast and beans), all three teams stayed on site to take part in some team building exercises. We had to cross the river without leaving a stone without being touched, use drainpipes to transport a tennis ball from the bottom of the bomb pit to the top, get through a spiders web without touching it, sheep herding (blindfolded children), human battleships and move tyres using only three posts, but not allowing the smaller ones to be under a larger tyre. Although the rain held off, it was extremely windy and cold, so after three challenges we headed back into the centre to have a hot chocolate to warm up.
Once warm again we headed back outside for our next set of challenges. We then all had fun playing with the parachute - although at one point Mr Godfrey did nearly take off!
After Lunch, Group 1 (Mr Godfrey's group) headed off to the caves, Group 2 (Mrs Mort's group) headed to the fantasy trail and rocket building and Group 3 (Mrs Goodchild & Mrs Birch's group) set off on a gorge walk. All three brought a different set of challenges and the children rose to the challenge, set their fears aside and gave everything a good go.
Our evening entertainment tonight was a disco, which everyone enjoyed - it's been a while since we all had a dance together.
Some very tired children tonight, who I am sure will sleep well ready for another day tomorrow.
Monday 27th June
Today, 33 children and 4 adults set off on our residential for the week. There were lots of excited children and some nervous faces as we left school and waved goodbye to the parents.
When we arrived, we quickly got settled into our rooms. The first challenge of the day was watching the children attempting to put a fitted sheet on to bunk bed mattresses! Once completed we headed to the dining hall to eat our packed lunch and find out what activities we were doing this afternoon.
My group and Mr Godfrey's group stayed at the centre to tackle archery and the low ropes - there were lots of giggles all round. Mrs Mort's group headed out on to the reserve to have a go at climbing.
We returned the the centre to be met with freshly baked chocolate cake. We got showered, and had some free time out in the field before dinner. Dinner consisted of sausages, mash, veg and Yorkshire pudding followed by apple crumble and cream. Just what was needed for our night hike. We learnt very quickly that we maybe should not have had the extra pudding as the climb to the top of the hill was certainly a challenge.
We all returned happy and ready for bed. The children have settled very quickly - they will need a good night's sleep for the adventures we have in store tomorrow!
