Mountain summits and survival island

It is Thursday lunchtime, and the Twyford team are chilling out on the beautiful white sands of Oldshoremore beach. They left survival island by boat at 7 am this morning after a successful night. Windy but dry. Shelters were built, shelters collapsed, and shelters were built again. Fires were lit, mackerel cooked, and damper bread made. Some slept out under a cloudless sky. Some even saw a shooting star.

It is great to see what a team of 12-year-olds are capable of when given the skills they need and are then given the space to put them into practice. We leave them to it.

They have achieved a lot in a short space of time. Tuesday’s mountain day was pretty special. Incredible weather as clouds came and went, then lingered in the corries on Arkle’s northern flank. One moment we basked in sunshine. The next moment we were in the drizzle of the passing clouds. It always looked moody inland. The boys and girls were great. They set about the task with gusto. No moans or “are we there yet”s. Mark picked up Max from the estate village at Achfary after his cricket trials and they managed to catch his Red Deer team before they reached the summit.

Is a real pleasure to work with such enthusiasm, and the girls and boys have made the very most of the experience.