Yesterday our Year 5 and 6 Netballers took to the court to play another game of Netball. This time the game was vs St Marys. Miss James was blown away by their commitment and dedication to the game. Once again, the team displayed our school values on the court and represented our school brilliantly. Well done GBP!

After all of the adventures of yesterday, the children slept soundly through the night - we even had to wake some of them up this morning as they were still fast asleep! They began the day by packing up all of their belongings and tidying their rooms ready for the next Avon Tyrrell guests. This morning the children were lucky enough to start the day with fresh pancakes and, needless to say, they filled themselves up ready to embrace their last activity of the week. 

With full tummies and eager minds, each group set off to complete their final activity and ended their trip on a high. The children have demonstrated some superb skills throughout the week and have really blown us away with the way that they celebrate not only their own accomplishments but also show genuine excitement and acknowledgement of the achievements of their peers too. It was so heart-warming to hear them cheering each other on; spontaneously erupting into applause as someone overcame a hurdle; and offering gentle and supportive words of encouragement and reassurance in order to motivate each other through a challenge. 

It goes without saying that the children have had a whale of a time this week. We have absolutely adored spending a few days out adventuring with our wonderful Maple Class and hope the children have returned to school with wonderful memories and very full hearts.

As a last note, we hope you enjoy spending your evening catching up on all of the laughs and moments from the week. I'm certain they'll sleep incredibly well tonight!

Take a look at the final selection of photos from our residential…

After dancing the night away at their disco last night, the children settled into bed and slept beautifully. They began their morning buzzing with excitement for an action-packed day of activities.

We started our day off wonderfully by filling ourselves to the brim with a delicious full English breakfast! We then embarked on our adventures and completed a range of activities including: kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, raft building, abseiling and archery. The adults were, once again, absolutely blown away by the children's remarkable determination and eagerness to embrace every challenge they faced through such a wide variety of tasks. Some of the children even conquered their fears and the huge smiles on their faces were tell-tale signs of the enormous pride they gained from achieving their goals. To end our day today, the children trekked into the woodland where they searched high and low for the perfect marshmallow-roasting sticks. We then made our way to the campfire where we enjoyed singing some much-loved songs and playing a few games around the comforting heat of the fire.

We have one final morning to enjoy before travelling home tomorrow but the children have loved every minute of their trip so far. They are so very excited to share all of their stories with you tomorrow!

Take a look at the pictures to see what we’ve been getting up to today…

What a beautiful day to mark Maple Class' first day at Avon Tyrrell! The sun shone beautifully and it certainly felt as if Spring had sprung. After a short coach journey (and some passionate renditions of the childrens' favourite songs) we arrived safely at Avon Tyrrell and the children eagerly waited to discover who they'd be sharing their rooms with. The children excitedly hurried to their rooms where they faced their very first challenge of the week: making their beds. With a little support from their friends, along with some words of encouragement for those who found themselves a little tangled in their duvet covers, all of the children successfully made their beds ready for their first night. 

We began our afternoon with a delicious lunch and then made our way to our first activity - pioneering. The children worked in their teams to construct their very own catapults using only wooden posts and rope. We were so impressed with the children's can do attitude and definitely saw them demonstrate the Great Binfields values of co-operation and resilience as they tied the intricate knots needed to support their structure. Once built, the children used their catapults to compete against each other, scoring points by aiming tennis balls at numbered podiums in the distance. 

The children then went off in their groups to complete their second activities which included: kayaking, abseiling and archery. All of the adults have been so impressed with the super attitude and determination that every child has shown towards the challenges today and we could not be prouder of them.

Each year at Avon Tyrrell, we also like to keep a daily diary to help us reflect on all of the memorable moments we share whilst we are here. The children were excited to record their highlights from their first day before putting on their party clothes ready for an evening of disco dancing. 

“It was an amazing first day! When we first arrived, I was amazed to see how big the house was and I absolutely love our dorm. Our first activity was epic - I Ioved it!“ Lilliana

"I really enjoyed abseiling because I haven't done it before. It was a challenge that I faced and I feel quite proud that I achieved it." Ava

"When we first arrived, I was amazed to see how huge the house was. The activities were wonderful and the food is incredibly tasty. Our last group activity was kayaking and we had a super time playing games on the lake in the sunshine." Oli

Keep checking in throughout the week to see what your wonderful children are getting up to. Take a look at a selection of photographs from today, more will be uploaded over the next few days.

Yesterday, Jungle Jonathan visited Year 5 with some of his creepy crawly creatures as part of their Walk on the Wild Side topic. The children loved meeting all the animals which ranged from millipedes to stick insects, to tarantulas, to geckos, to snakes. Jonathan was able to provide the children with lots of expert knowledge about the animals and their natural habitats. Take a look at the photos of the children meeting the animals - would you be brave enough to hold them?!

If you would like to find out more about Jungle Jonathan, visit his website - https://www.jonathansjungleroadshow.co.uk/

"It was the coolest day ever because I loved holding the snake. I liked how its scales felt in my hands" - Ivy

"The visit was awesome; I learnt a lot and conquered my fear of snakes." - Owen

"I loved Jungle Jonathan's visit because he brought in so many amazing creatures for us to see and hold. He also taught us lots of facts linked to our topic." - Ainee

Our final morning at Avon Tyrrell was a huge success! Despite being a little tired from boogieing the night away at our disco, the children were up and raring to go for their final activity. After another cooked breakfast, the children packed their things and were exceptionally well organised for their journey home. I must say that I have never been so impressed with how independent the children have been in packing, getting themselves organised to go home and ensuring their rooms were tidy before we left.

After packing, each group completed their remaining activity and were very grateful for the encouragement of the instructors and their peers. It has been lovely to watch the children’s teamwork and communication skills improve as the activities have gone on. They have really deepened their friendships and bonds and I hope now feel much closer to one another than at the start of the week.

What a wonderful few days we’ve all had. Every single child has been absolutely brilliant and all of the adults felt incredibly lucky to take such an awesome group of children away for their Year 6 residential. We want to thank them all for making it such a super experience for their peers and the adults too! The Avon Tyrrell members of staff were also highly impressed and mentioned on a number of occasions that our children were polite, cooperative and resilient throughout the activities.

Finally, we hope the children aren’t too tired this evening and you get to hear all about the fun filled adventures they’ve had over the past few days.

Take a look at the final selection of photos from our residential…

The children settled really well last night and slept brilliantly after enjoying an exciting campfire session yesterday evening. We toasted marshmallows and sang traditional campfire songs which made for a fantastic end to a wonderful first day at Avon Tyrrell.

To launch day two, the children energised themselves with a hearty full English breakfast – the adults were particularly impressed with this!  We then enjoyed a jam-packed day full of activities, including: canoeing, mountain biking, raft building, abseiling and archery. All of the adults were blown away by the sheer grit, determination and courage that the children displayed throughout the day. Some children even confronted real fears and despite feeling nervous, truly gave their all to each activity. We have honestly been so impressed with all of the children and can see the Great Binfields values shining through in their attitudes and behaviours.  Cooperation, resilience, creativity in their problem solving and respect have been in abundance over the past few days. To end the day, the children loved having a private disco in the main house and danced the night away before bedtime. Here are some of the children's thoughts about the day: 

- “My favourite part of today was the canoeing because we played really fun games and it was awesome to give it a try.” Harry

-“It was a really exciting day. I wasn’t sure about some activities at first but once we started, I realised how much fun they were. I’m really glad that I gave it a go.” Sophia

- “I really enjoyed the Mountain Biking activity today as there were lots of technical parts on the route. I also enjoyed the canoeing because you could go a lot faster compared to the children on the raft.” Joseph

- “The staff are really amazing and super encouraging. They really try to help you overcome your fears.” Sam

-“Today has been a spectacular day. The best bit was raft building as my team managed to get the raft to float. We worked as a team and showed great determination.” Leah

- “The best activity for me was the raft building because I really enjoy building new things. I really want to be an engineer when I’m older so these activities really interested me. My team worked well together and showed fantastic cooperation during the activity.” Saul

We have one final morning to enjoy before travelling home tomorrow but the children have loved every minute of their trip so far. We hope you get to hear all about it when they arrive back tomorrow.

Take a look at the pictures to see what we’ve been getting up to today…

We have had a glorious start to our residential here at Avon Tyrrell and have been very lucky with the weather as the sunshine welcomed us upon arrival! After a successful journey on the coach, the children were incredibly excited to find out who they would be sharing a room with; the excitement soon passed as they realised that they then had to make their own beds! With a little cooperation and teamwork, all of the children have a cosy bed to sleep in tonight.

Our afternoon was kick started with a super activity (pioneering) where the children built their very own catapults. They had to use some intricate knot styles to secure the poles in place as the catapults were giant size! The children were then able to score points based on the accuracy of their aims and success of the structure of their catapults – a few collapses ensued throughout the activity! We then enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the vast grounds, even witnessing a family of deer casually munching on the grass right before us.

Each year at Avon Tyrrell, we also like to keep a daily diary to help us reflect on all of the wonderful activities we get up whilst we are here. The children were keen to record their initial thoughts of Avon Tyrrell so far and enjoyed thinking ahead to what they are excited about. We have a campfire activity in store for us this evening and will make sure we wrap up warm before enjoying an evening of singing songs and celebrating that we have finally made it here!  

The children have settled in beautifully and are already making all of the adults incredibly proud. Here are a few quotes from the children themselves about their day so far:

“It has been a really exciting day and I even learnt something new as I didn’t know I could build a catapult before today! I look forward to the rest of the week and what it has in store for us. Also, the food is amazing.” Leonardo 

“I really enjoyed making the catapult today as it’s the first time I have ever done this. Also, the food has been delicious so far. What a birthday I’m having! I am really pleased with the children in my dorm too. P.S. Hi Mum! “ Alfie – birthday boy today!

"It was very exciting and action packed! My favourite part was settling into the rooms and finding out who I was with. I'm really looking forward to canoeing as I have done activities which are similar before." Mihalis

Keep checking in throughout the week to see what your wonderful children are getting up to. Take a look at a selection of photographs from today, more will be uploaded over the next few days.

Year 4 had a very exciting morning today, with a Topic Launch to set us off on our Lights, Camera, Action topic. The theme of the day was all centred around a jewellery robbery that happened in a local theatre, with 4 suspects - all of which had the perfect motives and opportunities to commit the crime. Our job, for the next few weeks, will be to write suspense stories all about what we think happened. Detective Grove and Detective Hanafin will be revealing the truth in a few weeks! Today, we looked at the evidence left at the scene of the crime, sketched the stolen items as well as studied the profiles of those we suspect. The value of creativity was most certainly demonstrated in Year 4 today as well as discussions around our concepts of 'respect', 'justice' and 'choice'.