In early October three teams of Sixth Form students headed to Snowdonia for a long weekend of preparation for the World Challenge Expedition to Ethiopia this summer. The weather was relatively kind with little rain however, gusting wind was an interesting experience as the students put up their newly acquired expedition tents. Throughout the period away the students were involved in a number of tasks that will play a significant part of their forthcoming African adventure, including cooking safely in the open air for a team of people, food
portion control, packing a backpack in a weight balanced way, and crossing rivers safely. Of course trekking is a major part of the expedition experience so some teams headed for the summit of Snowdon to be surrounded by swirling fog, whilst others went off track to see how they coped on slopes covered with loose rocks. The periods spent walking were interspersed with various scenarios – evacuating an injured person, finding someone who had become detached from the group etc. On the long journey home many caught up on much needed sleep whilst others put pen to paper to reflect on their preparation: Lexi Thawley, “It was a pleasant shock that I could get up at 6.30 a.m. to make
porridge and actually enjoy it.” Jack Blue, “Trangia cleaning at 8.00 a.m. in freezing weather was surprisingly good fun.” Harriet Mahier, “The best bit was challenging ourselves by walking across steep and rocky terrain – the views were breathtaking.” Kat Goodman, “It was a satisfying feeling of accomplishment to look back on trekking across a particularly tricky section, cooking for the team and successfully getting up at 6.30 a.m.” Ian Bryant, Assistant Head
Fundraise While You Shop!
If you are shopping on the internet for wine, furniture, iTunes, gifts or even flights, please take a moment to log onto The Giving Machine at www.thegivingmachine.co.uk. Register yourself and select Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School as your nominated beneficiary. There are hundreds of shopping sites accessible through The Giving Machine including Amazon, M&S, Tesco, Asda, BA, Boden, Next, E-Bay, Argos, John Lewis and many more. The school will earn a percentage of the value of items bought, which varies by retailer at no additional cost to the purchaser. Think how much we could fundraise without any effort at all if everyone at school logged onto The Giving Machine when shopping on the internet! Please support your school and log onto www.thegivingmachine.co.uk