Cundall Manor Upper School News

Wednesday 18^th  March 2009

A Walk on the Wild Side...

On a glorious sunny and warm Thursday morning the Wilderness 1 team awoke to the excitement of their forthcoming trip. We arrived at school to the elated faces of Mr Kempton and Mrs Willis who had eventually managed to cram the trailer and most of the minibus with all of our gear! We departed from school, buzzing with anticipation to arrive a few hours later on the banks of Lake Windermere for what was, apart from being harassed by the locals (i.e. an army of water- and airborne ducks, swans and geese,) a welcome picnic lunch. After re-embarking for the second leg of our journey we arrived at our state-of-the-art campsite, equipped with toilets and working showers! After pitching our tents, we spent the evening playing games and chilling out (metaphorically thankfully) before going to bed at 9 o'clock (-ish). After a surprisingly comfortable and undisturbed night's sleep (for the perpetrators of the snoring if not their fellow campers) we braced ourselves for the physically demanding but stunningly scenic  hike to Martmoor Cragg, where we would pitch camp and enjoy, or so we thought, a relaxing afternoon. Mr Kempton of course had other ideas and before we knew it we were climbing up the Pike of Stickle where, on reaching the top, we were rewarded with stunning yet brief glimpses of the valley below.                                                          

We've made it to the top!

The evening had set in by the time we made it back to our camp so we hastily prepared a torchlight supper and hit the hay, ready for another good night's sleep. Only that wasn't to be.....the wind picked up, threatening to blow away our tents, and with it came the rain. Whilst some of us managed to keep relatively dry, other tents, their contents and inhabitants fared worse. Indeed, one tent got so drenched that the two boys in it ended up abandoning their sodden sleeping bags and sleeping - or at least trying to- in their survival bags.

The latest model of self-collapsing tent!                                      

As morning arrived, and the weather showed no signs of improving, Mr Kempton took the decision not to attempt our ascent of Scarfell Pike (for fear that we would all turn into human kites!). So we packed up our tents and headed down to our original campsite where we were welcomed with still, dry weather, hot, wet showers and then a double treat - Mrs Willis extraordinary driving skills and a visit to local pub to watch the rugby internationals! After much merriment, and plateful after plateful of chips, we returned to our campsite for another bite to eat and to make final preparations for our homecoming the following morning. All in all it was a cold yet thrilling, windy yet exciting and generally great weekend. Thank you very much to Mr Kempton and Mrs Willis for all their help and encouragement throughout the weekend.

Jamie Hall and Chris White

GCSE French Orals

Good luck to the Thornton French scholars who all sit their GCSE French oral exam next Tuesday morning. Bon chance!

KH

Cake Stall for India

There will be a cake stall at midday on Friday 27^th March, the last day of term. The stall will be set up at the front of Upper School and all proceeds will go towards the India trip.

JK

Attention all Salcombe Sailors

We are still waiting for certain members of Leckby to return their medical forms in preparation for the Salcombe sailing trip in May. Please ensure they are in by the end of this week - we need to send them to Salcombe before the end of term.

SE

A reminder... once more

Following our last reminder about uniform and haircuts, it is great to see so many of the boys take heed of our request for curbing their curls. Unfortunately the girls see to be taking slightly longer to tame their manes. Can we please remind all girls again that long hair must be worn up in a pony tail,  - and without the extra adornment of ribbons and bows!

Coming soon, in the Upper School Newsletter.

Don't miss next week's eagerly awaited report by Jack and James on the Thornton Art trip to York City Art Gallery!