During the team building day, with the support of the Maidenhead Sea Cadets, the ferry was temporarily reopened by the Claires Court Outdoor Education Department, carrying our pupils across the River Thames.  Other activities during the day included soldier history tales in the WWI war cemetery, creative art in the Long Garden, ‘visiteering’ with the Trust’s gardeners and collaborative activities around the water garden and maze. The boys and girls had a great day meeting up, learning more about each other, making friends and winning points for their Houses.

When asked on the day their favourite parts, here’s what the pupils said:

• The maze - Other than 'running around and getting lost', they enjoyed problem solving, working as a team, communicating with each other and learning from mistakes.

• The boat trip - They appreciated the peace and quiet, learning about the history of the crossing points and farm workers - but mostly the pupils all just laughed at the dog who fell off the boat and couldn't swim…

• Girls and boys helped out with litter picking. The National Trust are currently driving to get people to help out and all agreed that it felt nice to make their environment/community a better place.

• The pupils enjoyed reflecting on the stories in the war cemetery - they felt they had to work together and be confident in front of the camera even though they were unsure at points.

• The reflective time in the Long Garden was really nice. They loved the peaceful time getting in touch with their senses and expressing those in their art work.

• Whilst the girls said 'boys are annoying' - when we dug a little deeper they said they felt part of a big school when they were with the boys. They did enjoy working with them and said they would like to do more work with them in the future.

• Finally, all enjoyed the independence of the treasure hunt. The pupils said they felt trusted by the staff to go off and explore but confident that they knew where we were if there was an issue.

Check out all the photos in our gallery.