Year 5 - Ufton Court Residential 2022 - Day 1

Day 1

Dear parents and carers,

You will be happy to know that after a few tears, the rain descending on us as we left Chiswick and a few upset tummies on the coach, we finally reached Ufton Court safely and happy!

On our arrival, we thought as we stepped of the coach that we would be in Ufton Court … however, we were wrong! Instead, we were welcomed back in time to the Temple of Zeus, which sits on Mount Olympus, instead! We were told that Year 5 and their teachers had been carefully selected to go on a sacred quest in honour of the gods and were to face a variety of challenges presented to us over the next few days. Year 5 and their teachers are hoping to show a range of skills and determination so that we are rewarded by the gods: we don’t want to defy them or to perform poorly because Hades may well come for us, where we would then be held as his slaves in the underworld for eternity! We all hope this doesn’t happen – wish us all luck!

Our first activity, we explored the gods and how they influence the way we lived in the past and live in the present. We followed their trail, around the ground, stopping to answer riddles, which I must say Lisa, Elia, Benjamin M and Max were amazing at, and to play games to please the gods too.

We then took a well-deserved break from the role of being from Ancient Greece and decided to head back to 2022 and treat ourselves to lunch – today’s lunch was soup and a variety of sandwiches which the children demolished – and to get into our bedrooms! Some great teamwork was carried out in each of the 4 bedrooms where children helped one another to help make up their beds, from putting the sheets on, to the pillowcases to the duvet covers! The children were all very excited about sharing rooms – wish the teachers luck for getting some sleep on Night 1 (we’ll keep you updated as to how we got on in this department)!

It was then time to head back to the life of Ancient Greece. It was now time to practise some Greek skills – we learned to weave spin like the goddess Athena and to spark a flint as a symbol to Prometheus! We learned that these skills told us about the lives of those in Ancient Greece, that life was hard, and the working day was long! Some children who really got a spark out of this activity, impressing the staff at Ufton Court and the teachers were: Alice, Summer, Zoe, Giovanni and Luka.

Following this, we took part in a photomapping activity to help us to become more aware of the environment we were in. This activity needed teamwork, and though there were some wobbles to begin with, overall, each team showed amazing teamwork, finding images of the environment, and locating them on a map.

For dinner, we had a hearty serving of sausage, mash and lots of yummy vegetables (other food was provided to children where needed) and this was followed by apple crumble, which was so delicious that some of us even helped ourselves to seconds! By now, we were getting even better at clearing our tables and did a great job at setting it up for breakfast for day 2. Some of the children, including Alesia, Chloe, Roxcie, Isabella and Michela even cleared and set up the breakfast for day 2 for the teachers too!

Following dinner, we took part in an activity called ‘Greek Crime and Punishment’. Juanlucas acted as our magistrate to help with the proceedings alongside the Heliaia (jury) as other children – including Gabriel, Joaquin, Orla, Tala-Rose and Jamie -  were brought forward to see if they were able to uphold the laws of Athens. Those who weren’t, were committing a crime which only meant one thing…. Lots of boos and being sent away in chains. Some of the acting we witnessed was amazing!

We ended our day by venturing on a night-walk where we explored the grounds of Ufton Court, using our torches to help us! The children were shocked at how much colder and darker it was compared to London and we were lucky enough to be able to see the stars too! Some children even told us:

“It’s so peaceful here, I’d like to see more of the countryside one day” (Luke) and “I like that we can see the stars here!” (Benjamin W)

We hope you enjoyed reading about Day 1. Images will be loaded following our trip due to lack of signal! We hope to keep you updated however please bare with us due to lack of signal, as detailed to you all in the original letter on page 3, around Ufton Court. Thank you.

We’re missing you all lots, love from all the children in Year 5 xxx