Polzeath residential - 15/05/22

On Sunday 15th of May Holton Independent school travelled to Polzeath in Cornwall for a one week stay. The aim of the trip was for pupils to take part in surfing lessons by qualified instructors in the hope that our pupils learn a new skill of being able to surf. During our visit pupils were also given a lot of independence and trust by having time away from staff. This will hopefully help build their self-confidence and improve social skills whilst in public, as well as improving relationships with peers. 

Whilst we were in Cornwall several pupils enquired about crabbing, so we took a short ferry ride across to Padstow to test their skills. The next day pupils were rewarded with a speed boat trip around the shores of Polzeath, on the look out for any wildlife as the driver said they had spotted a dolphin the week before. Overall, the trip was a great success as a lot of pupils have never been away from home before for a full week. A lot of the group took to surfing and clear progression in their ability was evident over the week as they began to stand up on their board. This whole experience will hopefully make a big difference on their attitudes towards school as well as creating new friendships. 

On Monday 13th December, we kicked off our Christmas activities week with a trip to the New Theatre Royal Lincoln to watch the pantomime, ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Staff and students all enjoyed watching and getting involved in the show.

On Tuesday 30th November Holton Independent school travelled to Derbyshire for a one night residential. The pupils and staff stayed at Hartington Hall which is an 17th century manor house that has been converted into a youth hostel. The main aims of the trip were to build pupils self-confidence, social skills and most importantly build positive relationships with staff and other pupils. On the first day of the trip staff and pupils completed a 10km walk that tested everyone’s fitness and map reading skills. The walk itself was very picturest walking along the river Dove with a slight incline hike which gave great views of the Derbyshire dales. This was a great experience for pupils to test their skills in preparation for their bronze Duke of Edinburgh award expedition that pupils will be undertaking later in the year. Later in the day everyone ate at a local restaurant to replenish their energy stores in preparation for an hour of ten-pin bowling at night as a reward for their efforts in the day. Overall, the trip has shown to be a success by taking pupils away from their comfort zones it will have a positive impact in their own self-belief and confidence in their ability in and out of a school environment

From Monday 15th to 19th November we enjoyed learning about bullying during the nationwide anti-bullying week in school during their SMSC lessons.

We discussed what bullying is, what forms it comes in and how it affects us inside and outside of school.

We also analysed the 2014 anti bullying survey, discussed the emergence of cyber bullying and found out ways in which we can cope with and report bullying.