As we sit here, listening to the fourteenth song in a row I don’t recognise, it presents itself as the perfect time to finish this week’s blog. Which can only be titled ‘Devon ’26 edition’.
The week started early on Monday morning. I say early – that’s by Mr. Mills Juniors standards. Mrs. Bryan would have already been up for two hours at 6:00am! We congregated at school, took one final deep breath, and opened the doors to greet the cohort.
It was great to see so many excited faces grinning enthusiastically as they ran into the hall to greet their friends. Although, given the time Lily-Ann arrives at school in the morning, some of them may have been waiting at the gate before we arrived! We did one final headcount, and off we went. The coach journey there, as you would have seen from Instagram, can only be compared to infamous party-buses. Our two (wonderful, it must be said) coach drivers handed out a post-it note and pen to everyone, and told the pupils to each come up with one song to add to our communal playlist. It has to be said, despite a variety of music that spans decades and genres – thank you Jude Y and Seb – it made the journey an enjoyable and relatively quick one.
Once we had arrived at our home for the week, there was little time to waste. Suitcases dropped, bags dumped in rooms and wetsuits on; we were heading to the lake for an afternoon of kayaking, paddle boarding and rafting. I am unsure whether there was more rain in the lake or coming down from above, but that didn’t stop the pupils throwing themselves in (in some cases, quite literally!). Isabella and Grace spent most of the time climbing onto their boards and trying to throw each other off, but that was part of the fun. Zizi and Phoebe’s version of fun consisted of trying to find the reverse gear, to get the kayak away from the side they kept crashing into!
Excitement continued throughout the evening as we all settled into our new rooms, and I think all the finger crossing as the dorms were being read out (we saw you, Esme!) worked because everyone seemed more than happy.
Tuesday started with Katie and Joey getting their respective marathons in whilst Mrs. Burniston hadn’t even brewed her first tea of the day. We had breakfast and marched up to our first activity: The High Ropes. It was wonderful to see both classes be so supportive, encouraging and engaging with their peers throughout the morning. I think a lot of people surprised themselves with their resilience. We had lunch, then split between the classes to do separate activities. Kahlo were buggy-boarding and nightlining, whilst Wilde did orienteering and climbing. The evening will forever stick in my memory as the time I saw Freddie R in a moisturising face-mask – I struggled to sleep that night, especially when a confetti cannon went off in my room as I was about to go to bed. Thank you, Eva!
Wednesday started with a 5k walk to Westward Ho! We had to brave the coastal winds and cross our fingers that would mean we’d be rewarded with sun for the second part of our day. Spoiler alert: we were. We arrived at the beachfront, set up camp and had our lunch. In between Wilde’s new favourite game of ‘who can keep their hood up for the longest whilst Mrs. Bryan’s about?’ we took it in turns to visit the local sweet shop. I daren’t think too much about how much was spent, and consumed later that day, but everyone seemed to love it. Others have learnt that pick ‘n’ mix is £3 PER 100g, and not just a flat fee! I wonder if Bella has eaten her ‘Minger’ bar yet, or if Isaac has tackled that giant jelly-baby?
That afternoon, we put on the wetsuits once more (still soaked from Monday, as Lillian kept reminding us), grabbed our boards and headed to the sea. The sun came out and so did the smiles. Everyone had a brilliant time trying out surfing and body-boarding, even if the waves were incredible that day. Myself and Mr. Mills Jnr’s soggy clothes can attest to that!
Thursday might have been the best day of the trip.
We’re four days in at this point – you could tell. The energy was dipping that morning. We needed something to bring it back. First order of the day was to invert the two activities the classes did Tuesday, and do what we hadn’t done. I loved seeing Kahlo class tackle the climbing wall, with so many of them having a go, despite apprehension. Go, Oscar!
Then came the thing all the pupils had been waiting for. The Ultimate Assault Course. The mere sight of the obstacle course revived all the energy. The buzz was unstoppable. The vibes were well and truly ‘vibing’.
One last fight with the wetsuits, and then it was time. They slid, hung and bounced all over the course. Non-stop laughter and smiles. Although, I was less smiley that everytime Autumn ran past me, she’d try and hug me, making my clothes even more damp. Although, in the heat that we had, it was quite welcome!
We dried ourselves off, had dinner, and went to our final ‘big’ activity. Big by name, and nature! The Big Sheep. Effectively an indoor soft-play that is only open to our year group for the evening. I have no idea where they (or me, as I threw myself off the tallest slide) found that last bit of energy. It continued as we got back to the accommodation for our last night, where we stayed up a little longer, and had a party to celebrate a fantastic week.
We’ve had an activity this morning, no, I don’t mean trying to make sure all suitcases could be shut, but a choice of frisbee golf or buggy building. We’re about to pull out of the service station for the final leg – next stop Whitehill.
Thank you to Mrs. Bryan, Mrs. Burniston, Mr. Mills Junior and of course the Year 6s for a fantastic week. A wonderful last residential.
