Through the week of the 15th of June, the children of Atwood’s Year 6 celebrated the end of their time at primary school with a fabulous residential stay in the Isle of Wight. On monday, the children set off in the coach with our driver for the week, Danny, and headed off to the ferry port in Lymington.
Once on the Isle of Wight we visited Tapnell Farm Park where we had great fun on the go karts, air pillows, trampolines and slides. Then, we set off to our hotel in Sandown. After dinner, we headed down to the beach to play in the sand and splash around in the sea.
On Tuesday, we woke up to blue skies and after a hearty breakfast we loaded onto the coach for a full day out at Robin Hill Country Park. On arrival, we discovered that we had the park to ourselves for the day! This allowed us plenty of time to explore the squirrel run, the digger park, the water bean, tobogganing, the electric boats and the safari playground. In the evening, we headed to the beach again for a game of beach cricket and a paddle.
On Wednesday, we took in a little bit of history with a visit to Carisbrooke Castle, where we walked the ramparts and learnt all about the garderobe. This medieval toilet was essentially a hole in the castle walls. Urgh! In the afternoon we visited the Isle of Wight animal sanctuary where we saw tigers, lions and bears that have been rescued from circuses or the exotic pet trade. These animals are now cared for in spacious enclosures. Our knowledgeable guides told us all about the sanctuary and how they help to rehabilitate the animals after what has sometimes been a traumatic start to their lives.
In the evening, after dinner, we piled in to the coach again for a quick trip to Ryde for a game of bowling. There were some impressive skills on show and some great scores racked up. We then headed back to the hotel where those children who still had some energy left managed to stay up to watch England v Croatia.
On Thursday after breakfast the children gathered themselves for a full day out at Blackgang Chine. The children enjoyed water slides, rides and spinning teacups. For some children the highlight was looping the loop on Extinction but for those not keen on the rides there was plenty of fun to be had in Cowboy Town. On Thursday evening, some children got themselves dressed up in their glad rags to strut their stuff at the disco while others decided to make the most of the lovely evening and head to the beach for once last visit.
On Friday, after a sleepy start to the day, the children had breakfast, loaded up the coach and headed to Alum Bay. After a short walk down the cliff, the children enjoyed a boat ride around the bay and out to The Needles. After walking back up the cliff, there was a final opportunity to spend any last remaining pennies in the shop before heading to the ferry. A smooth sailing saw us back on the mainland for the journey back to school and a grand reunion with families.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip with so many lovely memories made. The children’s behaviour was excellent and they were great ambassadors for the school. Many thanks to all the staff who gave up their time to make the trip such a success.
