Last week the whole of year 9 enjoyed a short holiday at PGL windmill hill. The purpose of the trip was to encourage social “bonding”. We took the bus on Monday the 28th to the centre, spent the night there and came back shortly before 6 o’clock the following day.

Upon arrival, the year group was split into dorm groups in alphabetical order, with the intention of putting people who did not know each other together so that they might meet. There were six people per room.

A game of cluedo had been organized, so as soon as everyone had finished their dinner we hurried over to hear the rules. This version of the game was not dissimilar to the board game Cluedo, but there were some differences. For one thing we had to search for the suspects, and they could hide or run away if they wanted to. So we had to chase them, catch them, question them… all this in the dark! It was a tremendous amount of fun, running around like little children again.

The next day our group-leaders marched us off to the activities we were going to do. These were of a wide range, including:

• Fencing; this was probably the one people were most excited about. Fencing is so different from the sports we do in school that everybody wanted to try it. Several people turned out to be quick with the foil!
• Trapeze; this was quite original. The activity consisted in climbing up a wobbly wooden pole and then jumping off, trying to grab a trapeze with your hands. Everybody took the test, even the teachers!
• Adventure course; this was a series of obstacles that you had to overcome. Variations included taking a car tyre (!) or a glass of water through the course.
• Climbing; the wall was for beginners, so those who wanted a challenge climbed it using only one hand. The bravest tried it without their hands…
• Jacob’s ladder; this one was probably the funniest one to observe. Most of us didn’t make it to the up. Those who did had to endure all the scoffing going on beneath them, because it really was funny to see your classmates hanging off these bars clumsily, making vain attempts to push their leg or arm over the next step.
• Zipwire; this activity was the most enjoyable because it involved the least physical effort, All you had to do is sit into a saddle attached to a wire and wait till it took you down to the other side.
• Abseiling; this involved jumping off a tower with a rope tied around your waist.

Overall we had a very good time and many new friendships were formed.

Nina del Ser