A new venue for our Year 5 residential outing

Year 5 recently returned from a very successful trip to Hilltop Outdoor Centre in North Norfolk.

This was the first time that Fairstead had visited the centre and the accompanying staff and pupils thoroughly enjoyed their stay.

They had the opportunity to try out different activities such as a climbing wall, a big zipper and walking along various high ropes. On the last evening they were also put through the assault course, which produced several hilarious moments.

The main purpose of the visit was to study the North Norfolk coast and investigate different wildlife habitats. The children were taught about coastal erosion and were able to see this at first hand. They also studied pond, woodland and rock pool environments. On the final morning we were lucky enough to take a boat out to Blakeney Point to watch diving birds and basking seals.

Staff at the centre were excellent and put the safety and comfort of the children as their main priority. This was a very valuable trip, not only as part of the Year 5 curriculum but also as a learning experience for the children. For many of them, it is their first time away from home for an extended period of time.

We hope to repeat this important visit next year and have already made a provisional booking for 2011.

A quote from Freddy: "I enjoyed the wall climbing and challenged myself to get to the top. The instructors were brilliant."

Lily said "it was amazing because it was fun and we did lots of different activities."