Stubbington Blog - 2023

Monday 6th November 2023

We all arrived safe and sound to start our exciting adventure. We spent the morning exploring our surroundings and getting used to our dorm rooms and new rules.
We spend most of our time with our schools friends but also do one activity in our houses with children from another school so we got to know them through team-building activities.
This afternoon, we enjoyed the glorious (but chilly!) sunshine throughout our beach walk. We hunted for different types of shells and learnt about the long shore drift.
Some of us will get to sneak quietly into the Hide this evening to hopefully catch a glimpse of the resident badgers and foxes in their natural habitats.
We are all well-fed and settling into Stubbington life!

Tuesday 7th November 2023

This morning was our first opportunity to try the delicious Stubbington breakfast! Cooked breakfast, cereals, toast - we were stuffed like every mealtime. This set us up for our morning of teams games where we had to work together to complete physical tasks whilst also learning about the nature around us.
This afternoon some of us experienced the famous Earthquake experience and the rest set up our mammal hotels. We can’t wait to see if any mice chose to stay in them overnight.
This evening we will be listening to talk from a local photographer who has taken beautiful photos of the wildlife at Stubbington as well as creating clay art.
Tomorrow will see the rest of us tackle the Eartquake experience.
We managed to have a good night’s sleep last night so are hoping for the same tonight.

Wednesday 8th November 2023
It’s taken a bit of a windy and rainy turn today however we’ve wrapped up warm and conquered the elements.
Firstly, some of us explored life as an Anglo Saxon in Stubbington’s very own long house. We became archaeologists to find buried artefacts, decorated shields and wove cables using wool.
This afternoon, we took a walk into Lee-on-Solent to look at the local area. We sketched different buildings, drew a map and completed a traffic survey.
After dinner, we played a large game of hide and seek with the other school where we had to find some pesky pirates!
We all had a great sleep last night and are hoping for the same tonight 🙂

Thursday 9th November 2023
On our last full day, all groups got to experience the activities they hadn’t yet tried.
We also got to check our mammal hotels to see if any animals had checked in! Both groups found a long-tailed field mouse in their hotels which they named Sophie and Kevin. We learned how to tell if they were male or female and took all their measurements to work out their approximate age and then let them go back out into their natural habitat.
Tonight we are taking part in The S-Factor! In our house groups we will be competing to add extra points to our house scores by performing our house song. Who will win…?
We’ve had a fantastic time away but are looking forward to returning tomorrow with lots of stories to tell and bags full of dirty washing!