InReach Trip to Ullswater Outward Bound Centre

The InReach Department at Mary Astell Academy were very excited to go on the school’s first residential visit. This was an amazing opportunity to go to the Outward Bound Centre in Ullswater for three days. For all of the students it was their first residential visit and they had been looking forward to it for many weeks.

However, they are not new to adventure training as they have done lots of preparation at Moorhouse Adventure Centre and learning outside the classroom with Mr Hancock. They even learned about the glacial geography of Ullswater so they could recognise the key features of the area.

After a long journey to Ullswater, the students arrived, but were soon into the activities with their fantastic instructors Will and Dom. They visited the lake and jumped in! From there they then went through a scary tunnel complex. Once they had done that, they were soon going over some army style obstacles which developed their team work. The day finished with a team building activity and hot chocolate!

The next day we all rowed across Ullswater to our departure point for climbing up Hallin Fell. This was going to be a big test for the students as they had never climbed a hill as big as this. They all showed great resilience however, making it to the top and enjoying the magnificent views. The descent took us to the next activity which was getting into a speedboat and being taken to a cliff where we jumped in from the cliff. Followed by an exciting fast ride back to the centre. The long day ended with everyone making a homemade pizza in the woods. All students slept well that night.

The final day saw the students gorge walking. In wellies and waterproofs, the students harnessed up and climbed up the steep, wet ghyll. It felt like a really wild and dangerous adventure. Sadly, this was the last activity and everyone, reluctantly, had to come home.

The visit was a massive success with all of the students “buzzing” about what they had done and achieved. They learned how to push themselves out of their comfort zones; they developed team building skills and how to work as a group; they learned how to enjoy yourself in a rugged environment, but most of all they created wonderful memories.

Finally, this wouldn’t have gone ahead without staff giving up their time to make this happen. Mrs Spowart was keen to make this happen and she came along too. Mr Hancock, Mr Rutherford and Mrs Bendelow worked hard to make sure every student got the best from whole experience. I am sure there will be more visits in the future. Well done to everyone!