Ardres 2013: Thank you

The weather did a marvellous impression of November from Tuesday to Thursday, but the children did an even better impression of indestructible and irrepressible Britishness and paid no attention, which was very impressive.  There is a new site manager, Malcolm (far right in photo), at Ardres this year, who has put in a great deal of work to tidy up the site and improve the facilities, bringing in new kayaks, kata-kanus (a sort of catamaran canoe with a sail  -  an excellent introduction for children) and a climbing wall, so many thanks to him.  The team of instructors was very good;  they were keen and positive throughout and we have a lot to thank them for, too.  Also, of course, the unforgettable Kevin, the bus driver.

Mr Edlin and Mrs Liley worked tirelessly to look after the children and organise them during the week and I would like to thank them for giving up their holiday and working so hard.  I must also add that my technician, Mr Bates, has put in a lot of work behind the scenes in the last few months to help me with the administration of the trip, which was very much appreciated.

Finally, of course, I must thank the parents for being so positive and supportive and the children for being fantastic throughout the week.  We were astonished by their achievements and it has been an absolute pleasure to take them away and see them having such a good time whilst developing in so many ways.

I will put up an album of a small selection of photos in the next few days.

Travel update 5

Now on M23. Satnav ETA 2:15.

Travel update 4

Satnav currently predicting ETA 2:13.

Travel update 3

Just leaving Dover, could be back early depending on traffic. Watch this space ...

Travel update 2

On the ferry and about to leave Calais.

Travel update

All through passport control and waiting to board the ferry. Running to schedule so far.

Ice creams

Sorry, Mrs Barter, she insisted ...

Getting ready for ice cream

Preparing to paddle across the lake to the ice cream shop.  Ice cream photo may follow ...

Mission Impossible

Archie explains how to feed the people through the web of rope.
He now needs to explain how he managed to get my hat ...

Getting ready

Just about to go off to the morning's activities, about to sing a song about bananas ...

Archery

Ready to go ...

The weather looks much better today. 
The Year 7 girls are about to take to the water and think their paddles make fetching moustaches. Alasdair has a quick practice in his kayak on the grass.

Sunshine at last

After a rather wet day, the sun finally made an appearance this evening.  The forecast for tomorrow is much less wet.

I can remember these olive trees as saplings during our first visit in 2001


This is our village, "Canards". The children are doing an evening activity in the marquee.

As you can see, I am having much more success updating the blog this year with my new phone and have also managed to tap into the Acorn wifi.

Up the wall ...

The Year 7 girls have a go on the climbing wall, a new activity this year.

Up and away

After a surprisingly good night's sleep, we are up and at it this morning.  Weather a bit wet ...

Volleyball

Having settled into their tents, a quick game of volleyball before the first activity.

Safely arrived at Ardres

After a pleasant smooth crossing we have arrived safely at the campsite. The sun is shining and the weather is very warm.

We have garments!

The T-shirts and hoodies arrived today. We hope to have them sorted out tomorrow.

Ardres 2013: Groups

There are three sets of groups into which we organise pupils for the trip, so it can be a bit complicated:

• Travelling check-list groups so that we can easily check all pupils are present
• Tent allocations
• Activity groups

The tent allocations are based on requests received from pupils and parents and Mrs Liley is just finalising those.  The activity groups are to split the pupils into three groups of suitable sizes for the activities that will take place during the week.  These tend to be based on the tent groups and we will sort them out this week.

The travelling check-list groups are purely to speed up the process of checking off the pupils at various stages during the journey and at any point during the week when we need to check that all the pupils are present.  Pupils are not expected to stay in these groups; it is simply a matter of reporting to the relevant member of staff to be ticked off.  To make things simple, I have arranged those by form as below:

• Mrs Liley:  7Be and 7He
• Mr Edlin:   7Vi and 8Ca
• Mr Court:  8Co and 8Sa

These are the people to whom you should report on Monday morning.

Ardres 2013: Travel Itinerary

This is hopefully the final version of the itinerary.  Any updates will, of course, be posted.  Also, watch this space for updated return times.

Monday 27th May 2013   Outward journey
05:45   Arrive at Shoreham College to register and load the coach to leave by 06:15
09:15   Arrive at Dover DFDS ferry terminal
10:15   Depart from Dover
12:45   Arrive at Calais, disembark in coach, head to Ardres
13:45   Arrive at the activity centre in Ardres

Please note that a packed lunch will be required, as the first meal provided is in the evening.

Friday 31st May 2013   Return journey
09:00   Depart from the Ardres activity centre
10:00   Arrive at DFDS terminal, Calais
11:00   Depart from Calais
11:30   Arrive at Dover, disembark in coach, head back to Shoreham
14:30   Arrive back at Shoreham College

All times quoted are local times, i.e. times in France are an hour ahead.

I will be able to update this blog via smartphone during the journey if there are any alterations to the expected return time, so it would be a good idea to watch out for updates on the Friday.

Ardres, May 2013: Information Evening

Many thanks to everyone for turning up to the information evening on Tuesday.
I went over some details which I shall post here for reference. 

Firstly, the kit list:

• Sleeping Bag/Duvet (it may be quite cold at night)
•  Pillow
•  Mattress cover (sheet)
•  Nightclothes
•  Bath towel / hand towel  (many)
• Casual clothes for evening
• Disposable camera/films
• Insect repellent
• Old T-shirts/shorts (many)
• Rash vests (recommended by Mr Edlin as they dry very fast)
• Jumper(s) and/or fleece(s)
• Pen & paper
• Bin bag(s) for dirty/wet clothes
• Socks
• Sunglasses
• Sun hat
• Swimming gear
• Tie-on for glasses/sunglasses
• Toiletries
• Torch and spare batteries
• Tracksuit bottoms
• Trousers/jeans/shorts
• Underwear
• Waterproof sun cream
•  Waterproofs (top & bottoms)
• Shoes (not open toed) for wet activities (many pairs)
• At least one pair of dry footwear (not open toed)
• It would be advisable to bring school polo shirt and shorts as backup
• A small amount of money changed into euros (including a €5 note in readiness for a possible giant ice cream).

Please do not bring expensive electronics such as iPods, cameras, games consoles, mobile phones or jewellery, as these will not be covered by our insurance.  Tents are not very secure, and if you choose to bring valuables we cannot be held responsible for their loss.  There will also not be facilities for charging things up.

I would stress that at least half the activities are likely to involve a dunking in the lake (or at least a significant splashing), so plenty of shorts and T-shirts will be required so that you have dry clothes to change into whilst the wet ones are drying.

If you have your own wetsuit, particularly of the "shortie" variety, you might want to wear it for some of the activities (although wetsuits are provided).

Please pack a soft bag rather than a rigid suitcase as luggage space on the coach will be at a premium and soft bags are more efficient and easier to stow. 

Itinerary to follow.