Posted on: July 7th 2017
A Recount of Bushcraft
http://www.norfolkhouseschool.org/school-life/photo-gallery/bushcraft-2017/
The 27th of June, the day we had all been dreaming of. It was the day we would be going to Bushcraft! We had our bags packed ready for the next 3 nights away. Everything was ready and all that we were waiting for was Mr Smith. When he finally arrived we said goodbye to our parents and boarded the coach.
After two hours of secretly munching sweets we arrived and were introduced to our tribe leaders. There was Beth, Charlie, Sophie and our camp leader was called Liam, who told us a quick summary of what we would be doing. We got off the coach and stretched our legs before picking up our luggage and heading to camp. On the way our instructors told us about number offs. It was where we all got a number and we would say them in order to check we were all together. Once we arrived at camp we played a few games like predator (where we had to sneak up on the prey) and sniper(a similar game but harder) before we told interesting facts about ourselves. We had wraps for lunch, they were the nicest thing we’d ever tasted, every time one of us had a wrap with everything in we would get a big cheer from the cook, Poppy. After that we had a few activities about stealth and were sorted into our tribes where we got to make our tribe name, flag, call and our own mini hakka. That night none of us could catch a wink of sleep as we were so excited for the next fun packed day.
Early the next morning at 7:30 am we sang happy birthday to Luke’s brother, Christian, who was turning 10. After that we had breakfast, which was bacon and eggy bread, and played another small game. This didn’t last very long as it was torrential rain. For lunch we had salmon which we watched Liam and Mr Ashton skillfully pan fry it, plus 5 pupils ate the eyeballs. In the afternoon we learnt knife skills where we carved out a trap peg using sticks that we found in the forest. Simultaneously another group made bracelets out of paracord so that if we ever found ourselves in the wilderness we could use it to make stuff. Later on that evening we all had a piece of Christian’s birthday cake before having roasted marshmallows over the fire. Charlie told us a story about when he was in Canada and how he ended dressed as a stag.
The next morning we had a bowl of porridge and syrup, it was very hot and delicious. To start our activities we split into our tribes to complete a rotation of exercises. One of the activities was archery where Alex got the highest score out of all the children. We also played blackout where we had to complete an obstacle course without using our eyes. We also used three man catapults but loads of people were injured by this. We also did the second leg of our football match where the final score was 3-3.
It was the final day at Bushcraft and it was also Luke’s birthday, he was 11 today. To start of the day we had pancakes and a wide range toppings, after that we had an exciting game of sniper. Our only activity today was the bushcraft challenge where we had to put together all the knowledge we had accumulated over the past three days and the Treebious tribe emerged victorious. We were all excited to see our parents in the afternoon and sleep in a nice warm bed. On the coach we were all buzzing and eating sweets once more. We finally returned to Muswell Hill and reunited with our parents. This was the best trip we’ve ever had!
By Alex Sergeant (6A) and
Luke Chesney (6A)
