Residential Programme
At Kings Hill School, we value diverse and high quality school trips and outdoor learning experiences which enables teachers to enhance pupil’s classroom learning, giving opportunities to pupils that they may not otherwise have.
As part of our outdoor learning programme, we offer a residential programme in Key Stage 2 that offer a range of activities such as abseiling, climbing, archery and raft building.
As well as the physical health benefits, residential trips have proven to have such a positive effect on children’s self-esteem and confidence levels, improving both emotional health and well-being. The importance of allowing children to explore their environment and taking responsibility for themselves and others is significant. Residential trips offer an unique opportunity for children to claim their independence, make their own decisions and build new friendships leading to improved relationships, achievement and a greater sense of belonging students are exposed to new opportunities for success, new ways of learning and are challenged to reach their full potential.
Our residential programme is progressive in order to build the confidence to stay away from home for a week in Year 6.
Year 3 Residential
For the first time this year, our year 3 children will be spending a day at Bewl Water enjoying a range of outdoor, adventurous activities.
Year 4 Residential
In the summer term, our Year 4 children take part in an overnight camp on our school fields. The children start by helping to put up their own tents and then making up their own beds. The children are responsible for keeping their tent organised and tidy as there can be a tent inspection at any moment!
During the evening the children learn valuable outdoor life skills such as den building, tying different knots, starting a fire and using a compass and a map. These activities are followed by sporting activities to get the children all working together.
As the evening draws in, we enjoy a good sing song whilst having hot chocolate and marshmallows. The children get ready for bed and then share a tent with friends for the night.
In the morning, our school kitchen kindly provide us with cereal and hot sandwiches for breakfast to set us up for our next day.
Year 5 Residential
In the summer term, our Year 5 children take part in a 3 day/ 2 night residential trip. We leave on a Monday and return to school on Wednesday afternoon with exhausted but very happy children! The children share a cabin with friends and are responsible for making their own beds and keeping their cabins tidy.
The activities start straight away on Monday afternoon and include Aeroball and tackling the challenge course. In the evening the children take part in a live Cluedo game- solving clues and tasks to find the culprit! The next day the children have a full day’s activities including building and sailing rafts, whizzing down a zip wire, abseiling and archery. As this is the last night the children enjoy a disco with their friends.
On the last day, the children carry out activities in the morning that include the survivor task and trapeze before heading back to school on the coach.
Year 6 Residential
In the final term of Year 6, the children embark on an exciting week away on their residential. We depart by coach on Monday and return on Friday afternoon very happy but exhausted children. Children share cabins with their friends and then join together during the day for various activities; we start bright and early each morning, so staff ensure that children go to bed at a reasonable time!
There are four activities in each full day, for example Giant Swing, High Ropes, Raft Building and Abseiling. These take place under the close supervision of PGL staff and our own teachers, who encourage and support all the children to achieve their best, often trying something completely new in the process. No one is compelled to participate in a particular activity, but even the least confident children manage to come away from the week, feeling that they have surpassed themselves at something. There are also evening activities, which might take the form of a quiz or a team game; songs around the campfire, team building games and a disco.
The residential centre provide breakfast, lunch and dinner during our stay, and the wide ranging choice of options has proven to be very popular with all the children; special dietary requirements are catered for, with teaching staff making the centre aware of these at the time of booking.
These are some quotes from last year’s participants:
I thoroughly enjoyed PGL and I managed to exceed my friends’, my teachers’ and my own expectations by reaching the top of Jacobs Ladder, despite being one of the smallest year 6 boys
I really enjoyed the food, especially the curry!
Out of all the school trips that I have ever had, PGL has been the best by far. Before I went I was petrified of heights I didn’t even like going up ladders. After one day at PGL my fear of heights had completely vanished and now I love heights. The memories that I have from PGL have one thing in common, I was having fun!!! An activity I really enjoyed was raft building. In a team we designed and made our own raft and tested it out on the pond at PGL. People always say that working in a team and trusting others is something we should do but it isn’t always that easy. Going to PGL taught me how to do just that and more. It was a great way to end year 6 and prepare me for the future.
The staff were so nice and didn’t make you do anything you didn’t want to do, plus the cooked breakfast was lovely!
