After an interesting night of strong winds, everyone awoke to a blustery morning with cooler temperatures and heavy showers. Despite, this, at least one pupil woke up happy as it was their birthday. Nina was awoken by a chorus of 'Happy Birthday' by Mrs Williams and Mrs Sherlock who personally delivered her birthday present first thing this morning. The Rockley chef kindly made a very chocolatey chocolate cake for after dinner which we all shared out (with Nina getting the largest slice!)
It was disappointing that no-one could go out on the water due to the high winds but we felt that was better than watching 47 Year 7's disappear over the horizon!! Today became a land-based day where both groups headed off-site to partake in a spot of orienteering followed by the Le Lac challenge. Some pupils embraced this more than others, with many of them taking up the challenge of launching themselves off the jetty into the lake, scrambling down under kayaks and covering themselves in mud! Needless to say, showers all round finished off the night!
Mrs Williams

Last night's dinner was a "French Affair" where platters of mussels, escargot and cuisses de grenouilles (frogs legs) were brought out for the children to experience. An impressive number of the children braved the local delicacies, with many of them being pleasantly surprised by the flavours. However there were also some spectacular faces pulled, of which all the staff agreed, Aimee won.

This morning, after breakfast, we set of for The Dune du Pilat - the largest dune in Europe at 117 metres and 3 kilometres wide. While most of the group took the recommended route up the dune, Mrs Williams accepted a challenge from Tom B with a race to the summit... straight up. Needless to say it was a close 2nd for Mrs Williams. Despite gaining on Tom towards the top, she never quite made it. But she was magnanimous in defeat!

When the rest of the group rejoined them, we took in the views from the top of dune which were stunning in all directions. We then proceeded with the tent group photoshoots!

Last night we abandoned camp and visited the local town of Mimizan for a play on the beach and a wander around the shops. The weather wasn't the 30 degrees we had become accustomed to but it didn't dampen spirits. After some beach games, beach gymnastics and general burying of each other, we all headed off to purchase our ice-creams. All the staff were impressed with the Year 7's as, after some gentle persuasion and cajoling, they all attempted ordering their ice-creams in French! Well done to all.
Mrs Williams

After a night of rain, it brightened up and the children were back out on the water taking part in either kayaking or dinghy sailing today. The kayak group were towed across to the far side of the lake to 'Croc Creek' where pupils experienced kayaking through the mangrove-like river inlets. After Mr Phelps informed the children that the water was home to alligators with no teeth, several pupils were convinced they had sighted the creatures!! It turned out to be unusual looking pieces of wood, of course.
The weather took a turn for the worse on the way back to shore with an impressive thunderstorm but, seeing as they were already wet, no-one seemed to mind.
The sailing group had oodles of fun this afternoon capsizing their boats. I'm convinced there was more capsizing than sailing but they all seemed to enjoy themselves.
Our tent inspection went well after Mrs Williams and Mrs Sherlock needed pegs on noses on their earlier visits!
We are all now having a little bit of 'down time' before heading to dinner. This evening we all head off to Mimizan for a play on the beach and a wander around the town, consuming copious amounts of ice-cream.
Tomorrow is our day out at the Dune de Pyla and the weather looks like it might not be nice to us! Watch this space for more updates.
Mrs Williams

 Hello all. We have had another fantastic day today. Last night, everyone took part in the egg drop challenge before heading to bed. It was quiet within minutes of all the children settling down for the night and we never heard a peep until 8 am the next morning! All these activities are clearing working their magic!
Today saw groups go out on the Canadian canoes and mountain biking. Such coordinated kids we have never seen before - who knew that if you paddled on one side,  a canoe would go round in a circle??!! Endlessly!!
With three in a canoe, children had to assign themselves the roles of: looker, support and powerhouse. Unfortunately, the lookers failed to look very far at all and lots of crashes were had! With a superb instructor (George), the children enjoyed several games (ask them all about the penguin game!) before going off on an adventure across the lake. Mrs Sherlock and Mr Phelps made a formidable team until Erin, Melissa and co ploughed straight through them!

The highlight for Mr Webster, who was sporting his Go Pro at the time, was when Jamie held the front brakes too hard and ended up in an awkward collision with his own handle bars! Ouch! But no harm done!

To finish the day off, the staff had chosen several pupils to assist Mr Phelps in the shaving off of his beard. With such intense heat (sorry everyone!), Mr Phelps had decided the beard needed to go. After dinner and announcing his decision, the entire Cranborne crew relocated to the teacher tent to witness the great shave off!

Hello everyone! We made it safely to France and I have to say, this group survived on the least amount of sleep I've seen in three years!! We watched Pitch Perfect as we travelled through the night and were lucky to get 4 fairly quiet hours!
We arrived at Le Lac at 8.45am to be greeted by the extremely enthusiastic Rockley instructors who escorted the children to their tents to unpack. After a breakfast in the sunshine, pupils were off to their first activity: kayaking and dinghy sailing. Fun was had by all, particularly Tom who was flung several times into the water by a very tired Mr Phelps! After a game of 'World Domination', pupils kayaked back to shore ready for lunch. This afternoon saw plenty of good quality sailing (and capsizing) before heading back for dinner. The children are now involved in the egg drop challenge before heading off to bed. Let's hope it is a quieter night tonight!!
Mrs Williams

Year seven have arrived

Well, we weren't even out of Verwood before the rustling of Harribo packets could be heard the length of the coach! With everyone on a sugar high, I thought we were in for an interesting journey but they were great. Very excited...but great. We have been entertained with singing, top trumps, fun and hilarity. We are now on the ferry and the children have all gone off in their groups to explore. We are due into Calais in the next ten minutes so it will be a dvd-fest followed by lights out and bedtime! Our coach drivers have been fantastic - keeping everyone entertained. We will ypdate you when we arrive in Mimizan.
​Mrs Williams