Silver D of E Expedition
Eleven Thornton students went out on their silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition last week to the Whitby area. It was glorious weather for the three days they were out there, which kept them happy even if it was a mission for some to find shade along the route. The bikers set out from Danby in the North York Moors and the walkers set off a little further north in a village called Liverton. Their routes took them to Runswick Bay, where that evening they cooked their tea down on the beach. As the bikers were mainly on country lanes for the duration of the trip, their main worry was tackling the hills in the area whilst the walkers had to deal with other challenges, which included battling with overgrown paths and crossing streams with broken bridges. But in true Cundall spirit they all came out fighting, even if they had a few scrapes and scratches. The second day saw both groups head through Whitby, to the perfect campsite at Beacon Farm complete with its own ice cream parlour! The third day saw both groups heading for Robin Hood’s Bay where they had a bit of time to relax at the seaside. Throughout the routes they had some spectacular views of the coastline. It was a perfect trip to finish off their time at Cundall together.
Form 6 conquer Ben Nevis
Form 6 recently returned from a fabulous trip to Glencoe Outdoor Centre, Fort William where they completed a gruelling challenge, climbing Ben Nevis! The pupils arrived at Fort William after an 8 hour drive on Monday evening in high spirits and ready to face the UK’s highest Mountain. The pupils were split into two groups; the first group climbed on Tuesday and the second the following day. The pupils take an alternative route to the ‘tourist route’ to the summit. It is a challenging climb and scramble to the top, however it was secluded, beautiful and most importantly fun! The weather conditions were not favourable but the pupils continued with determination. After a four hour climb in the rain, the summit was reached at approximately 1pm. The pupils had lunch at the summit and then descended through snow and rain in 2 ½ hours. This extremely impressive time was aided by several games of ’I-spy’ to distract them from the aching muscles! Group 2 faced Ben Nevis on the Wednesday and they were lucky enough to have very little rain, completing the mountain in a similar time to Group 1. We even had a little visit from Mr Simpson in his jet aeroplane. Julia was very impressed with this! Other activities that the pupils completed included kayaking, canyoning and sailing (for one lucky group). Although the canyoning was very cold, it was certainly a popular activity. A fabulous experience was had by all and the teachers were extremely proud of the team work, determination and enthusiasm of all of the pupils. The Mountain Leaders were also very impressed with our students, who were an absolute pleasure to be with!