In the first event of an action packed summer activity line-up, children from our Worcester and Dudley offices visited Blackwell Adventure Centre for some good old-fashioned outdoor fun.
Like true Brits, nobody let the on and off rain showers (of course, it is the school summer holidays after all!) spoil the fun, and if anything it even helped to make the first activity, grass sledging, even more thrilling!
Kitted out with safety helmets, a sledge and a drop of courage and helped along by the moral support of the rest of the group and a hearty starting shove from the instructor, the children took it in turns to hurtle down the steep, slippery hill on their sled. And of course the reward for dragging the sled back up the hill was the chance to go again… and again… and again!
After a snack break it was time for our children to channel their inner Robin Hood as they tried their hand at the notoriously tricky art of archery.
The children all listened attentively to the instructor as she coached them on how to hold the bow, load the arrow, take aim and shoot. Every child got the opportunity to have a good solo practise session before organising themselves into teams for a competition. The children scored points for their team if their arrow hit the target, with maximum points awarded if they were able to pop the bullseye balloon. The air of good-natured competitiveness was infectious, and every single child went about their turns with enthusiasm, effort and great sportsmanship, and was rewarded with deafening cheers from their team each time an arrow hit the mark.
After the archery session and a quick break it was back on with the helmets for a free play session on the obstacle course. With rope bridges, swinging tyres, balance poles and plenty of other challenging elements to engage the brain as well as the body, the obstacle course most definitely did its job in ensuring the children were well and truly worn out and happy by the time their foster carers arrived to take them home!
