Scholars' Trip to Cornwall
Once again the Scholars were able to enjoy a break in Cornwall whilst the rest of Year 8 sat Common Entrance.
Day 1: Arriving at Harlyn Bay on Sunday afternoon the advance party unpacked our provisions before heading for the beach for a paddle and an ice cream whilst the Winchester candidates met their future school mates for lunch at the College before joining us in the evening. After a roast beef supper the whole party headed for the beach for a game of cricket and another splash in the sea. Day 2: After a hearty full English breakfast on Monday morning it was back down to the beach for surf school. Despite a lack of surf everyone managed to get up on the boards and look as if they knew what they were doing at some point in the day with some of the group able to try up standup-paddleboarding towards the end of the day. A large portion of sweet and sour chicken later and it was back out for another session of beach cricket and a swim for those who had the energy and so ended day 2.
Day 3: started like day 2; sausages, bacon, beans, egg, toast etc. etc. before heading off for Port Quin and a morning of sea kayaking. Again we were blessed with fantastic weather and were soon paddling out of the bay and along the coast towards Padstow. With perfect conditions on the water we were able to explore several caves along the coastline before beaching the kayaks for a short break and snack. We paddled directly back to Port Quin where we spent over half an hour leaping from the kayaks into the clear blue waters and seeing how may people it was possible to get standing up on the bottom of an upturned kayak and other such frivolous activities. Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end and we had to leave the water and return to base for lunch before an afternoon in Padstow sampling wares of the ice cream and fudge selling establishments that can be found there.
Day 4: Wednesday morning saw us heading for the Eden Project. After a journey interrupted by a Polish lorry driver getting stuck down a narrow country lane whilst following his Satnav we just got to the Eden Project in time to meet our guide, Mark Patterson. Mark has taken quite a few groups of Highfield Scholars around Eden over the past few years and, as usual, did us proud. With the outside temperature being so high we spent most of our time looking around the temperate biome (the outside section of Eden) before a very brief trip into the humid tropic biome and warm temperate biome and then on to the “Core” where we said farewell to Mark. After lunch we returned to the two indoor biomes for a more detailed look around. Back at base we enjoyed a brief sus break before heading down to the beach for a final game of beach cricket and a swim; rounding the evening off with a BBQ on the sand. With the whole party keen to see what was happening in “The Apprentice” it was back to the house to settle in for a quiet last evening.
Day 5:Thursday morning was a sad time as we had to pack everything together and clear up the house before heading back to Highfield to see how the CE candidates had fared and to join the Headmaster for a BBQ in his garden. As always thanks to the parents who provided a vast array of snacks, Peter Hampel and Mark Patterson at Eden, Peter Hesselmann for his cooking and Mary Henderson for putting a roof over our heads.