Getting Ready for Ullswater

Hey all, the time is coming ever closer to our weekend away in (the hopefully sunny) Lake District.

The day we leave:

1) Make sure you have a large breakfast so you don't feel hungry on the coach.
2) Bring a packed lunch that we can eat on the way, there is no guarantees you can buy things at a service station... plus they are really expensive even if we did have time!
3) Wear clothes that are ready for you to start doing activities as soon as you get to Ullswater, there may not be time to change out of those lovely Uggs (so don't bring them anyway!!) or jeggings.
4) You may want to bring a small "day bag" with your packed lunches and a few drinks for the trip and maybe something to pass the time... we can't reiterate it enough DO NOT BRING ANYTHING THAT IS BREAKABLE OR COULD BE DAMAGED BY WET CONDITIONS - School cannot take responsibility for anything that gets lost or broken!! So bring a book, a magazine maybe or even a pack of cards!
5) If you suffer from travel sickness please tell your coach leader and we try and get you sitting near the front of the coach, if you normally take travel sickness tablets then please do this with people at home.


12 top tips before we go:
1) Make sure you pack your bag with clothes that are suitable for all types of weather, there maybe times of sun, but also wet rain and it may get colder when we stay outside for a night! Maybe some insect spray if your skin is particularly tasty for the insects of the world.
2) Pack a few sweets, cereal bars or emergency chocolate that you can have in your free time, not for on the coach!
3) Pack enough clothes to last for the days we are away.... you really don't want to run out of socks and pants! It maybe worth investing in a pair of walking socks too.
4) There will be times when you may need to put a wet suit on... we will be borrowing the centre wetsuits (we pay for the use of their equipment in our course fee so why not use it!) which means two things...
Firstly, swimwear is fine to wear underneath... but please make sure you have a t-shirt and shorts to go over the swimwear too.
5) You will be able to use walking boots from the centre so don't pack or bring any expensive ones from home! Mr. Simmons brings an old pair of trainers each year that get soaking wet and dry off in the drying room each day. Please do not bring any new/expensive pairs of shoes with you... they may get wet!
6) One pair of pyjamas would also be useful.
7) A "peaked" hat just in case it is really hot and sunny, maybe a pair of sunglasses.... but again not expensive ones!
8) You will not need more than £10 for the time you are away, there will not be anything to spend money on whilst you are at the centre and only limited time in a service station on the way back. Please do not bring excess amounts of money and it would be really useful if students bought money in change rather than just notes!
9) Please note the school cannot accept any responsibility for any breakages to expensive suitcases in transport... so again please don't bring anything too expensive or fancy!
10) We recommend against students bringing expensive mobile phones and again cannot take any responsibility for any loss or damage incurred. However, we do appreciate that students will always sneak phones in, if that is the case maybe bring an old on that won't matter too much if it breaks! Mr. Simmons again brings an old phone that has so far escaped the recycling companies just for use during the Outward Bound weekends! There is a payphone on site and at service stations which can be used and we will be taking the school mobile with us which should be used in times of emergency. The number is 07980305412
11) Sun Cream.... the centre does have sun cream available but please do feel free to bring your own if you do need higher factor than normal or if you may have a reaction to any specific type of sun cream.
12) A towel for your personal use.

A final thought, we really want students to have the best experience possible whilst away on their experience to Ullswater. The top tips shown here are not to scare students and people at home, it is just a few things that have cropped up through our years of running this trip which if not followed have led to some stress for some of our pupils! After all, we want students to relax and enjoy their weekend away and people at home to understand how safe and well looked after the students are so they can relax and enjoy their weekend off too!

If you do have any queries please do not hesitate to contact either of the trip leaders:

Mr. Simmons msimmons@arthurterry.bham.sch.uk

or Miss Lakin hlakin@arthurterry.bham.sch.uk

Many thanks,

Mr. Simmons and Miss Lakin.

Outward Bound is an educational charity that promotes outdoor learning. They aim to help young people realise their potential through learning in the wild within a supportive yet challenging environment. Their official site is http://www.outwardbound.org.uk/ and there is plenty of extra information on there if you do fancy having a look around.

At Arthur Terry we have a history of collaboration with Outward Bound and decide to use this charity year on year to promote skills that go beyond what we teach in our classrooms.

At the moment we offer annual trips for Year 7 to Aberdovey and Year 9 to Ullswater. We also have an extra special trip to South Africa being planned for 2013 which has strong links to Outward Bound too. For more information about those trips please feel free to visit those pages by clicking on the tab at the top.

For us, Outward Bound provides a means for students to enjoy learning outside of the classroom without a specific subject focus. Instead students are interacting with new people, making more friends and challenge themselves into doing something new.