This week has seen a number of year groups embark on various field day activities. From mountain biking, climbing, gliding, camping, shooting, team building and much more, our students have been busy!

Catering

Fans of Masterchef will be familiar with the ubiquitous sous vide machine.

This week, our Catering department put their machine to good use, creating 100 vacuum-sealed, boil-in-the-bag meals for CCF Army field day. The UK army is low on stocks of the standard-issue 24 hour ration packs which are usually provided on field days.

On the menu is classic beef Bolognese with four cheese tortellini and garlic bread.

Also included was a ‘survival kit’, consisting of hot chocolate sachets, cup-a-soup, brownies and raisins.

History Trip

You might think a trip to the trenches would involve a ferry and a long coach journey, but this was not the case for this visit. The Centre for Experimental Military Archaeology is based at the Detling showground and when it is not being used as a film set or commandeered by the MOD, schools can go to visit a section of recreated WW1 trench systems. The lead historian, Andy Robertshaw, whose grandfather fought in WWI, has appeared in and advised on several Hollywood films such as War Horse and 1917.  Andy knows everything there is to know about the trenches and was keen to share his insights. 

Our first activity was to get into the mindset of a ‘Tommy’.  We handled the artefacts and considered what it would be like to carry all of the necessary equipment. Musa Sarfraz (Fourth Form) enthusiastically volunteered to try on the clothing. This included replicas of a WWI jacket, jerkin, helmet, identity tag, rifle, shovel, ration packs, shovel, games, webbing and authentic 1916 hand grenades. This gave us a good idea of what it was like to serve in the War.

After this, we visited the site’s replica of a Belgian railway trench. We learnt information about the trench, such as what the sandbags are used for and the different height trenches. We were then allowed to go inside the trench where we could try out gas rattles and bells, as well as look inside a periscope. The trench was extremely lifelike and realistic and is used by the cadets and MOD to train current soldiers.

This hands-on experience was much better than a stuffy museum.  To actually walk through the trench system and feel the weight of the packs really brought it to life!

Geography Trip

Under the leadership of Mr Downs, Mr Evans and Mrs Warner, a selection of GCSE Geography students travelled up to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. This provided an excellent opportunity for our pupils to see the marvellous fruits of our Olympic legacy, whilst developing their understanding of urban regeneration and greening case study examples. The trip proved to be an enjoyable and productive expedition for all and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the participating pupils for their wonderful attitude and exemplary behaviour.

Blacklands Farm

The Third Form enjoyed a trip to Black Farm Activity Centre, where they got to enjoy the high ropes, climbing and the crate challenge – even the staff joined in!

Junior Leadership

Our Second Form enjoyed mountain biking at Bedgebury followed by climbing at The Climbing Experience in Maidstone.

Chatham Dockyard

Our First Form pupils went to Chatham Dockyard, with 400 years of heritage and 80 acres to explore!

CCF Army – Pippingford Park 

You can see all of the photos here.

CCF Navy – Portsmouth

You can see all of the photos here.

CCF RAF – Range Day 

You can see all of the photos here.