At the beginning of June every year, girls in the Remove look forward to a long weekend trip to Calshot Activities Centre. The centre, in Southampton, offers a range of exciting activities and water sports, many of which the girls will try for the first time. Windsurfing, sailing and kayaking are all on offer, as well as other dry activities such as wall climbing, snowboarding, mountain biking skills, track cycling in a velodrome, and team swing, which consists of being dropped from a great height – quite terrifying if you ask me
CALSHOT
REMOVE TRIP TO CALSHOT ACTIVITIES CENTRE
In the evenings, the fun continued with activities on the beach and team building exercises. Competitive spirit came alive when the girls were up against each other in a race to build the tallest shoe tower, and the longest line possible using their bodies and any other items they had with them. The instructors were fantastic at coming up with such stimulating and exciting challenges and the girls seemed to really enjoy themselves. On the beach, the girls even helped their community by undertaking some beach clearing! Hermitage and Hill were split up into different groups throughout the weekend so that there was an opportunity for them to make friends outside of their usual social circle. Completion of the weekend went towards the girls’ Wakefield Award, which aims to develop their sense of collaboration, compassion, creativity and most importantly, resilience. It was lovely to see such a growth in the girls’ confidence throughout the sessions at Calshot, and with the help of some inspiring instructors, they were able to overcome their fears and learn many new skills. Every girl was encouraged to try every activity and many personal goals were set and achieved in this supportive environment. Overall, I’m sure all of the girls will remember this weekend as one of their highlights of Remove, just as the year above them did! Miss Gabrielle Collie, Resident Pastoral Assistant
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“Windsurfing was amazing. It was difficult to turn but I got the hang of it in the end.” Matilda (Tilly) Wilkinson “I learnt lots about teamwork, especially in Team Swing.” Tara Dyer “It was great working with people who I don’t usually hang out with.” Honor Neville “I wish we could go back again!” Charlotte Pearson “I kept capsizing when I was sailing. It was hilarious.” Ashley Iguh
DOWNE HOUSE MAGAZINE