The end of Trinity term saw our students participate in a wide range of activities, ranging from fun and lively interactive on-site activities to residential trips and outdoor pursuits, as part of this year’s enrichment week.
Languages Cafe
The MFL Department ran a Languages Café for Grammar. Excited, hungry students first learnt how to ask for a wide range of French, Spanish, German and Polish food in the correct languages and practised role plays in the classroom. Their faces lit up as they then went into the café which was decorated with flags and full of food. However, all the food had to be ordered in the correct language! Students enjoyed tasting speciality food and are now confident that they will not starve when travelling abroad.
The languages day continued with a Guess the Language quiz and then taster sessions of Polish and Russian, led by our Eastern European language specialists. In the afternoon there was great excitement when a pizza van came on site and students could order authentic Italian pizzas.
An excellent day all round with many HPL awards for empathetic, creating and risk taking. Many thanks to the organisers.
Alpacas
Our Element’s students embarked on a new trip and visited Yew Tree Farm in nearby Anstey. it’s a small rural alpaca business with a herd of approximately 40 alpacas used for breeding and walking duties. When we arrived it was very exciting as one of the female members of the herd was in Labour and within half an hour of us being there she had given birth to a little baby cria who they allowed us to name Zoe!
We then started off learning more about what Alpaca’s actually are including where they are from in the wild, their diet, adaptations and differences to their well-known cousin the Llama. Our host Penny then explained the commercial uses of alpaca and how their fleece which is super soft, hypo-allergenic and extremely warm, can be spun into yarn to make many knitted products or used to fill pillows or cushions.
Our adventure continued as our next host Stephen took us to meet 6 members of the male herd. He showed us their teeth and hooves and how they behave as a pack. He explained how you should lead an alpaca, ensuring that you walk behind their ears so they can always be alert for danger. The student then walked their own alpacas in pairs. Some of the students managed to get them to go over a little jump and also in and out of some barrels as part of a small agility course.
Lastly, we met the females and their cria (baby alpacas) – They were very trusting and inquisitive and couldn’t wait to come and get some carrot snacks from the students! Penny talked us through the family trees of the different cria and the students were excited to learn that some of the males they had just been walking were the fathers or even grandfathers of the babies they were now meeting!
The Edge
Archery, high ropes, air rifles, mountain boarding… at the end of term all Syntax students who were based in College for Enrichment Week had a day at The Edge. Although we had all the summer weather thrown at us, we had a fabulous time during a rotation of activities. Even the most scared of us had a go at the high ropes with amazing views across the lake with encouragement from the instructors, our peers and teachers.