Outdoor education is a priority at Heritage. Last week, Years 5 and 6 went away for four days and three nights to an outdoor centre in the Peak District National Park. We have been using this centre for six years now. Pupils, staff and parent helpers sleep in tents but make use of a excellent kitchen and dining hall facilities for meals. We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and set up tents in light rain! The pupils had time to explore the site and play in the woods before supper, after which we played wide games. On Wednesday pupils alternated between caving in Stoney Middleton and rock climbing on Stanage Edge. The evening included a session on survival skills, particularly fire lighting. Mr Catley also provided exciting wood craft opportunities for pupils, including whittling sticks and making whistles during free times. On Thursday the conditions were perfect for a day hike out of Edale along the Pennine Way up Jacob’s Ladder, then along the edge of Kinder Scout and down Grindsbrook Clough back to Edale. Having lunch among the Wool Packs and playing in Grindsbrook were highlights. Friday saw us pack up before a final game of capture the flag and the return drive to Cambridge. All in all, an outstanding week where pupils could embrace new challenges, while enjoying being outdoors and having fun with friends.

‘On Wednesday, we went for a day trip to London. When we got there, we could see the Shard and the Gherkin from the car park!  We then walked across London Bridge (we’d driven over it in the minibus). We passed Pudding Lane, the place where the Great Fire of London started. In a square, we saw the memorial for all the people who died in the fire. There was an inscription in Latin. Next, we ate lunch next to the Tower of London. Then we walked around the tower, saw the moat, and went across Tower Bridge.

Soon, we came across the Golden Hinde. It is a ship in the middle of a square. The figurehead is a golden doe. We were welcomed in by Captain Rio. She took us onto the middle deck and talked to us. I got to be the helmsman. The helmsman had to kneel down because he was in charge of steering the wheel because the opposing ship would try to knock them off.

We were taken below deck to see the place where the officers would eat, map things out, talk and sleep. The captain had the only bed on the ship. The officers (about 20 out of 60 crew members) slept on straw. When the officers and the captain ate, they got the best and the others got their scraps. Weapons were stored here too.

Captain Rio took us down a staircase that lead to the Gun Deck. This is the place where the cannons would be fired. There were five cannons. This is also the place where the other 40 men would have slept. Then we went down another flight of stairs to the food stores. Everything would have been in a barrel, also pickled. Food was precious, so if you were caught stealing it, your hand was nailed to a post for four hours and then chopped off.

We had a brilliant time on the Golden Hinde and fortunately no one lost a hand!’  Maisie C. Year 5