Having taken the kids from the Prestfelde summer school to the Adventure Rope Course last week, we thought it would be nice to head back. However, we were keen to give the kids a bit more of a choice in what they wanted to do, so not everyone did the same set of activities.

My group opted to have a go at the Crate Stack which was a new activity for the vast majority of them. It was interesting to see the different degrees of success experienced by the different teams of 3 as they tried to build the biggest stack in the time available. Some managed to get 5 or 6 layers of crates under their feet, whilst others seemed to knock more off than they were able to place. Frustrating, but very funny!

After the Crate Stack, we moved on to the Feature Climbing Wall. Many of the kids had tried this last week, but were determined to conquer the ‘roof’ which had been the downfall for most. Not everyone manage to get themselves over this awkward obstacle, but we definitely had a higher success rate than last time. Well done.

They then headed into the Adventure Tunnels which have become very popular with these guys. The tunnels provide a rabbit warren of dead ends and trap doors as well as various obstacles, which are designed to provide a group with a degree problem solving along the way. However, many of the Prestfelde pupils have been through the Tunnels quite a number of times, so they were through the maze in no time at all, but still enjoyed the experience!

Due to how well the group were working together, we were making much faster progress than the others, so we decided to slip in an extra activity that we hadn’t planned on doing – no one seemed to mind. It was the Leap of Faith that got the vote. For some, the height and wobbly nature of the pole is quite unnerving, so not everyone could bring themselves to go right to the top. However, I’m always delighted to see people give things a go and take them as far as they feel they want to. For some, they went further than they ever have before, and this is an accomplishment in itself.

To finish off the visit, the group literally pulled together to winch each other up on the Giant Swing. I’ve tried to take photos of this for a while, but they always come out blurred due to the speed of the swing. So I apologise for the lack of clarity on this picture, but I hope it gives the general impression.