Our Year 4 trip to the Isle of Wight’s residential began on Monday 13th May. We said our goodbyes and set off for Portsmouth in the early hours on Monday. We weren’t long into our journey, when some children asked “how long is it to the Isle of Wight?’ “What time will we arrive in Portsmouth?’ “I’m feeling sick!” But all in all, there was a real buzz of great sounds amongst the children: singing, chatting, reading books, drawing, laughter and playing games.
After a quick toilet break at the service station, we arrived in Portsmouth and headed to the Blue Reef Aquarium, where the children were immersed into a sea life experience. The children were taken on a journey to explore the diversity of marine life from the British coast to the Mediterranean and beyond. Through a dedicated workshop, the children discovered a wide range of sea creatures and the importance of marine conservation. By the end, the children were most definitely ready for lunch and couldn’t wait to tuck into their packed lunches! Their bellies were finally full and so we set off to catch the ferry across to Fishbourne and onto our Hotel in Sandown. Upon arrival, the children cheered and were excited about getting to their rooms! We met the owners: Andy, Peter and their mother Wendy who went over the rules and expectations before sending them off to their room to settle in. We gathered again for our well-deserved evening meal and finally settled for bed.
We were up early on Tuesday for breakfast and then headed out to Godshill Model Village, where children gained a snapshot of life represented in the 1930’s, and where they discovered homes, pubs, churches and little people frozen in time. It was a lovely crafted village and the children enjoyed looking inside the little shops, homes, churches and of course the frozen figures. By the afternoon, the sun was out and the weather was glorious, so we headed to Shanklin Beach, here we stopped for lunch and then walked all the way back along the beach front to our hotel. We discovered that we had walked a distance of just over 2.5 miles. We stopped for a quick break and were treated to an ice cream and headed back to the hotel. After our evening meal, we were back on the road and off to play ten pin bowling. This was a great evening, with lots of laughter, skilful playing and plenty of juice! That evening, the children were so exhausted they needed some chill out time in their rooms and an early night!
Wednesday morning was spent at Bembridge Lifeboat Station where the children gained an insight into the work and volunteering carried out by RNLI. This was an informative workshop where children were able to try on the uniform worn by the volunteers. I think, some of our children were keen volunteers and may pursue this as a career! We headed for Havenstreet Steam Railway in the afternoon. Here the children took part in a workshop and were given a tour around the museum, looking at an era where steam trains were the order of the day. The workshop was informative too! The highlight was when we sat on a steam train and went on a journey to Wootton and back, enjoying the beautiful countryside and busy singing our songs for ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.’ By late afternoon, we headed by at the hotel for our evening meal. A chill out time in the lounge or our rooms ready for bed.
Thursday morning was spent at Amazon World. The children loved this place. We got to see the red pandas being fed, walk into the lemur enclosures, observe animals set in the rainforest and got the chance to feed the wallaby and meet the meerkats and flamingos. By the end, the children were ready to treat themselves at the gift shops. We spent the afternoon at Ryde Beach. This was great fun! We built sand castles, buried ourselves in the sand, collected shells and pebbles, played games and manged to dip our toes in the water.
Thursday evening was Disco Night. What a fantastic night had by all, the children and staff danced the night away. There were some brilliant tunes, with children singing and showing off their cool moves!
By the end of the week, many were delighted that we were heading back. We said our goodbyes and set off back to school. We stopped off at Portsmouth and spent quality time exploring the Maryrose, Henry VIIIs favourite ship. The children were able to handle objects, listen to experts talk about these artefacts and had a chance to become archers on the Maryrose.
On arrival, there were lots of hugs and kisses. We were extremely proud of all the children on our residential. Being a week away, gave the children the opportunity to become self-sufficient, develop organisational skills and become independent thinkers. Well done Year 4 and the team!!
Categories: Educational Visit
