On Monday 12 June, all of Year 12 departed Ipswich School in order to reach the sunny northern coast of Devon. This week is effectively the Year 12 equivalent of the Year 8 Cumbria trip, and is filled with adventurous activities that students participate in as well as life skills activities such as first aid and preparation for university life. Upon arriving in Devon after an 8-9 hour bus journey in 28 degree heat, we were shown where our rooms would be before having 10 minutes to get luggage into our dorms. We then congregated in the dining hall in order to hear Mr Duncombe’s introductory talk which informed us of the activities and lessons to come, as well as a warning about the dangers of sunstroke. Following this, the year group split into two parts consisting of three houses each and went off to either play wide games, including rounders and football, or a children’s play centre called The Big Sheep.

The second day saw us surfing and coasteering at Woolacombe after a cooked breakfast. Coasteering, for those unaware, is where you jump off cliffs into the sea below and both were greatly enjoyed by students – the highlight of the trip for many. The other activities during the week included archery, high ropes, assault course, orienteering, shelter building and cooking. These activities were interspersed with useful lessons from the teachers to prepare us for university and beyond. My personal favourite lesson was Mr Cliff’s freshers’ week talk, in which he described many interesting events that took place when he was in uni!

The week would not be complete without the talent show, which School house won in style with a beautiful rendition of Summer Nights from Grease. A veritable treasure trove of free goodies was obtained from the Devon trip, including sun hats with the house emblems embroidered on.
The sunburn I received through factor 50+ was another unexpected free goody and accompanied me throughout the course of the Devon trip!

Some students detoured on the way home to visit the universities of Bristol and Bath while the rest of us returned in the early evening of Friday, concluding a fantastic week away from school after exams!

Paul B, Year 12
Photos by Mr Cliff and Mr Calver