Dear Parents / Carers,
The year 6 residential trip for 2016 will take place from Monday 13th June to Friday 17th June. We will leave school at lunchtime on Monday and travel by coach to Mersea so we are settled and reay to start the afternoon activities. We will then return to school during the afternoon of Friday after completing morning sessions. Exact time will be discussed at a later date.
Situated on Mersea Island on the river Blackwater near Colchester, Mersea is Essex Outdoors’ largest centre for outdoor learning, with over 62 acres of well-maintained grounds. All staff have undergone Criminal Record Bureau checks, and have attended child protection and safeguarding training. Qualified First Aiders are also always on site as well as a duty member of staff always available 24-hours a day.
Over the five days the children will take part in fourteen 90 minute sessions which may include achery, caving, carts, problem solving, low ropes and many more. Allactivities are rigorously monitored and guidelines are followed to ensure the safety of the children at all times. During the evenings the children will be under the direction of Engaines staff who will provide a range of exciting activities for the children to take part in.
The children and Engaines staff will stay in tents, which are set in a circle around a central marquee which creates the perfect camp. The camp site has a newly built toilet and shower block adjacent to the camp site. Meals are provided by the sites’ catering staff and served in the dining room. The children are given three cooked meals a day and have a wide choice of child friendly foods to choose from. All dietary requirements can be catered for.
The cost of the trip is £238 with a non-refundable deposit of £20 to be paid by Friday 10th July. The cost of the coach will be covered by fundraising events held by the years 6’s throughout the year. Following payments will be £109 by the end of the Autumn Term (December 11th 2015) and then the balance of £109 to be paid by the end of the Spring term (18th March 2016). If you would like to pay weekly or in instalments to suit yourself please feel free to ask for a payment card.
The experience the children gain from the residential trip cannot be measured in terms of confidence boosting, team building and sense of achievement. We really hope that all children will attend the trip and make it a time to remember!
Please feel free to look at the Mersea outdoor centre website www.essexoutdoors.org/mersea.php and see for yourself how fantastic an opportunity this is for your child. If you have any queries or worries please do not hesitate to come in and ask. We will give more detailed information nearer the time.
Yours sincerely,
Cherry Curle
Deputy Head
