On Friday 12 June, as part of the Future Friday programme, LIV and MIV pupils were taken into rural Wiltshire to undertake a raft-building challenge designed to develop their teamwork, problem-solving and practical engineering skills, while also testing their resilience. The activity brought together many of the physical and practical skills they have been developing throughout the year, complementing the interpersonal and organisational skills they are concurrently applying through their Wings of Hope charity fundraising project.
The rafting team building exercise, run by H5 Activities, started with an orienteering challenge. The girls had to use map references to find markers that earned each of their teams’ points. These points could be used to ‘buy’ materials with which they would build a raft to cross a lake, explore an island and find ‘gold’ nuggets.
The teams invested huge energy into running to markers, to try and get the most points possible. These were exchanged for barrels, ropes, ties and poles that could be used to construct a raft. The girls designed their own rafts, worked out how to put them together and set about building them. This required collaboration and cooperation. Every team rose to the challenge splendidly.
Once constructed, the rafts were launched and rowed across the lake. Not all of the designs survived the launching process, but every student got time on the water, even if it meant using an H5 canoe to develop their paddling skills.
The weather was lovely, the packed lunches were tasty and a great time was had by all.
Mr Adrian Stoten, Future Fridays team
