Friends' School Saffron Walden

Sixth Form Activity Weekend September 13th to 15th 2002

 

6i at the Bowles Outdoor Centre

 

 

 It is part of the New Wisdom that today's grandparents are more active in their lifestyle than today's teenagers. Grandparents garden, shop, walk the dog, post letters and run for buses. Teenagers flop in front of TVs, consume the food bought at the shops, stroke their stuffed animals, send text messages and arrive late.

Well, it's not always like that. Twenty four of the brightest and best set off to the other side of Tunbridge Wells for a weekend of outdoor exercises, adrenalin rushes, plates full of carbohydrates, simple wooden accommodation and communal existence for 48 hours. I speculated that for some it might be the only time in their lives that they would share their bed space with anyone else. Well, conceivably. The year group took to the demands made of them with patience and forbearance - even more so than the two previous year groups who have undertaken this exercise. Divided in two, each group had to learn to look, learn and listen to and from each other when trying to solve problems. They had to develop trust in each other when overcoming obstacles or in just feeling safe. Many scaled heights, literally and psychologically, as they swallowed hard and did not take the easy way out by staying groundside.

It was all perfectly safe. Nobody fell (if you don't mention the dry skiing), nothing broke (except assumptions and habits) and nobody got hurt (except in their pride). For yet another bunch of today's teenagers, there are alternative ways of spending a life other than through the wallet. John Searle-Barnes