Stubbington 2022 Blog

Monday 14th February 
The sun was shining and the sky was blue - what a fantastic start to our Stubbington trip!
We arrived about 10am and found our rooms. We were owls, kestrels, badgers or foxes. We unpacked our clothes and decided who was having the top or bottom bunk before we popped our teddy in our bed. After unpacking, we met Mr Scarborough and his team in The Great Chamber. They gave us a tour of the site and all the children were amazed at how big it was ( the adventure playground was also met with an excited gasp). It was then time for lunch. A quote from the children -‘ It was seriously yummy’. The children were now energised and ready to explore the beach. There are some very observant children in Y5 because a record number of children found fossils. Anna-Rose and Ollie found exceptional specimens and they were delighted to be able to keep them. We also created and explored our own rock pool habitats and created incredible sand sculptures which required teamwork, resilience and some impressive architecture skills. We were ready for a delicious dinner after all the lovely sea air and it didn’t disappoint. All the children were very happy to have 3 courses. 
Tonight, we’re enjoying looking at some of the most incredible photographs taken by a local wildlife photographer. This will set us up perfectly for our visit to the hide after supper. We are all crossing our fingers that we get to see the badgers and foxes.

Tuesday 15th February

We loved visiting the hide the night before and were still speaking about the badgers and foxes at breakfast. Breakfast was delicious and a great start to the day. 

After breakfast, we were learning about foxes and were amazed that foxes can hear a ticking watch over 40 metres away. We then carried out activities around the grounds and had to think like a fox! It was a brilliant morning and we enjoyed be smart and stealthy. 

After lunch, we had a variety of activities which included gnome caching, shelter building and the infamous Earthquake. All the groups did a fantastic job and the shelters were water tight. 

We have made lots of wonderful memories and have even more to look forward to tomorrow. 

Wednesday 16th February

Today was full of mixed emotions for the Y5 children and the team as we were saying goodbye to two classes but also saying welcome to three. 

The children at the beginning of the week, had a wonderful time taking part in either Earthquake or Gnome caching and den building. The den builders were amazing as the weather made it really tricky for them, however they showed amazing resilience and despite the wind, build water tight dens. Well done Team A. Team B were also learning incredible team building and cooperation skills as they were working together to move a series of essential equipment as part of the Earthquake rescue team. All members of the team successfully navigated the course and should be very proud of themselves. We waved them goodbye at 1:15pm to make their way back to school.

Peake and Valentina class, it was a pleasure to work with you and you made the year 5 team very proud. Enjoy the rest of your week and half term. 

In the meantime, the second half of the year group arrived and started to settle into Stubbington. They had a tour so that they could see the amazing facilities and start to get their bearings. They then took part in Stubbington Fox. It was so lovely to hear the excited giggles and nervous shrieks as they tried to evade the mean farmers (aka Mrs Morgan and Mrs Smith - who are both extremely lovely in real life but played the role of the mean farmer brilliantly). Some children were brilliant foxes and stealthily avoided the farmers. Well done. 

The children then experienced their first lunch at Stubbington and realised that the food really is awesome! They ate heartily ready for the recreation time and the rest of the activities. There were some wonderful team building / problem solving activities and it was wonderful to see the cooperation between the children. Tonight, after supper, the children will see some of the fantastic photos of badgers, foxes and other local wildlife taken by a local wildlife photographer before we go out to the hide. Fingers crossed we get to see badgers and foxes. 

Thursday 17th February 

The penultimate day at Stubbington and we woke up to beautiful blue skies and glorious sunshine. The children were full of smiles as they went down to breakfast after having a great night sleep. Lots of children tucked into a hearty cooked breakfast and then prepared themselves for inspection. I have to give a special mention to two boys, Tommy and Finley, who worked really hard to ensure all the beds in their dormitory were perfectly presented (Tommy even asked for an iron to make sure the sheet didn’t have any creases). Lots of well-deserved star awards - well done Y5. The children were split into 2 groups: one went to Earthquake and the other group were gnome caching and den building, The dens were pretty watertight and all the gnomes were saved! Team skills on Earthquake were superb and all children crossed the lave leap successfully. 

In the afternoon, we went to the beach and went fossil hunting. No shark teeth this time but a few Turritella fossils were found. Lots of brilliant sand castle creations and lots of exploring of shells as well as identification. The evening ended with a fantastic game where the children had to solve the mystery of the stolen treasure. Well done Fair Oak for solving the mystery. The evening ended with another badger watching session for the children. 

Another fantastic day at Stubbington. 

Friday 18th February

it may not have been the planned ending to the residential but it was still fantastic. The Stubbington staff had a variety of amazing activities for us to choose from and we chose two which we thought would have a wow factor and be good fun. 
After a delicious breakfast, the children worked in two groups. One group investigated small mammal hotels. The Stubbington staff had placed small animal hotels in the places they predicted small mammals would visit and these were brought into our working space so they could be opened with the children. We saw a variety of voles and mice including a species called yellow neck. We measured and weighed them, we also used evidence to work out how old they were. The children named them too.
The other group, worked on their team work skills through a variety of brilliant challenges, puzzles and tasks (it felt like a bit like a team version of the Crystal Maze). It was brilliant to hear the giggles and see the children working together  ( the silent challenge caused lots of hilarity! ).

After our picnic lunch, the Stubbington staff kindly let the children swap over so that all groups experience both activities. 
What a fantastic week and a wonderful group of children to spend the week with. I feel incredibly proud of everyone and hope the special memories they made will stay with them forever. I am especially proud of the children who had never been away from home and were feeling nervous before their departure. All of them fully embraced the experience with the support of their friends, room mates and the superb team I had the pleasure to spend a week with. The smiles, laughter, friendships and shared experience I hope will provide lots of happy conversations over half term.