Dartmoor adventure for local pupils
Year 4 pupils at All Saints Marsh Church of England Academy and Dunsford Community Academy, both part of the Learning Academy Partnership , enjoyed an exciting adventure during a joint residential trip to Dartmoor.
One of the Trust’s beliefs is being “stronger together”. Children and staff at All Saints Marsh Church of England Academy exemplified this recently as they joined forces with their friends from Dunsford Community Academy for a fantastic three days at Pixies’ Holt Outdoor Learning Centre.
The children quickly made new friends from across the two academies and worked together during the course of the trip to embrace an array of challenging activities. The children didn’t let the weather dampen their mood as they showed great resilience and courage to undertake some exciting new opportunities, including archery, caving and even a night walk on the moors.
For many of the children it was their first time staying away from home and facing such challenges, with each pupil taking this independence in their stride. The trip gave them a chance to broaden their horizons, with another Trust belief being “You cannot be what you cannot see”. The pupils came back from their trip to Pixies’ Holt with a renewed appreciation of nature and adventure, as well as plenty of inspiration to think about future careers in the environment and sustainability sector.
Ensuring new opportunities for pupils to experience are a foundation of the Trust Charter, and the teams at All Saints and Dunsford truly went the extra mile to enable more pupils to attend by seeking community funding. Family Support Lead, Rebecca Webber, successfully applied for vital funding from the local Community and Locality Fund from Teignbridge District Council and Devon County Council to reduce the cost for parents and carers.
The children had plenty of positive feedback to share from their time at Pixies’ Holt Outdoor Learning Centre:
“I enjoyed archery because it was fun – I got two bullseyes!”
“I had so much fun caving, even though it was hard to squeeze through the little gaps. I had to trust the instructors and persevere!”
Evie Semmens, Interim Headteacher at All Saints Marsh Church of England Academy said:
“The children thoroughly enjoyed their time in Pixies’ Holt Outdoor Learning Centre. It was wonderful to see the excitement on their faces and hear about the wonderful activities they got involved with during the trip. Getting the chance to make friends with pupils from Dunsford Community Academy was also a great opportunity, and exemplifies the close bonds we have across the Learning Academy Partnership.
“At All Saints Marsh Church of England Academy, we believe that providing children with the chance to challenge themselves is a critical part of their development into confident, independent young people. It is also important that our pupils are given the opportunity to experience the wonderful natural beauty right on our doorstep in Dartmoor – we cannot wait to see which pupils have been inspired to become the cavers, rangers and environmentalists of the future.”
