Today in Key Stage 4 we have held our training day in preparation of our Bendrigg Trust visit in November. Throughout the day we’ve had a carousel of activities that all classes have taken part in. These have been:

First Aid with Mrs Jones who very kindly talked us through lots of useful information about cuts and grazes and how to treat them and how to tie a sling. We all got to have a go in groups at tying a sling and using a t-shirt as an alternative if we didn’t have a bandage with us. Mrs Jones taught us that if we got injured when we were in the countryside and weren’t sure where we were, we could ring 112 and the emergency services could trace our location from our signal on our phone.

We learnt about the Countryside Code, how we need to show respect everyone that we meet when we are out in the countryside and how we protect the environment when we are walking in the countryside. We watched a clip on YouTube about Petunia and John who were not making good choices whilst in the countryside and making the farmer in the cartoon very mad. Everyone could say what Petunia and John could do differently in order to follow the Countryside Code.

We took part in an activity about Personal Hygiene and looked at which items we should pack in our backpack when we are taking part in our expedition walk. This led to some very interesting discussions between the pupils, and it was really nice to hear the reasoning behind people’s decisions. It was agreed that flip flops wouldn’t be needed whilst on expedition, but that deodorant, hand sanitiser and a drink of water would definitely be a good idea to have in your backpack.

Mr Murphy very kindly set up a team navigation challenge for everyone to take part in. Teams worked together to follow the map around the school grounds to find the various points and solve the clues to crack the code. This needed good communication skills between team members, and everyone was reminded that everyone needed to play their part in their team.

A very big thank you to the whole Key Stage 4 team for a fantastic day!

Key Stage 4 Duke of Edinburgh Training Day