Day 4
The pupils have been very late to rise this morning but had a brilliant night in terms of falling asleep quickly.


As we are walking around making sure they are up and ready for breakfast, Oscar has seen Mr Smith inching his way slowly up the stairs and said to him gently,' Don't worry Mr Smith- it's only seven steps.' That is what we are encouraging- pupils looking after all members of our party!

Bacon rolls and morning briefing await.

Nearly all the rooms scored 10 out 10 for the cleanliness and tidiness of their rooms today which shows they are getting the hang of it.

NEWSFLASH- IT DID NOT RAIN FOR FOUR HOURS. OK IT HAS NOW STARTED BUT IT WAS DRY FOR A WHILE!!!

Robbie P and Kenny M proved capable at orienteering today, as did the other winning group of Lee, Joe F and Evan. Samantha has done this before too and was quietly confident. Declan and Kris had a fast time for the course this morning. Hannah, Emma and Oscar were slightly hindered by losing their pencil mid-route so they couldn't gather all the points in. Zenap and Leah took a leisurely pace for the course.

The cyclists today had a rain free morning and Joe M was growing in confidence while Ellie S seemed to be enjoying herself up until they were hosing each other down and Mrs McKay got water down her back. Ellie is plotting her revenge.

Mr Napier, Joe F and Evan discussed the best biscuits for dunking tea in with opinions remaining divided. The group as a whole have become a group of tea lovers with school staff rushing around like mad waiters at break times making sure they have their well earned hot drink.

Declan C took the lead up the gorge and we saw Samantha decide to slide down a waterfall face first. While initially getting a fright she quickly became part of a human dam that then led to her group sliding down the rock into rock pools.

Charli, Joe F and Oscar finished off their activity by swimming in the sea with seals and have now headed to the showers to warm up. Having seen how muddy they Have got my advice for parents is that your washing machines need to be primed and ready for our return tomorrow,

Rhys has enjoyed the gorge walking and caving but the hardest part was not climbing deep underground or climbing up a river, but removing his wet waterproofs. Amy and Declan's favourite part of today was watching another male teacher get stuck when entering the caves then have to resort to a backward roll in order to exit the cave entrance (that had clearly shrunk in the rain.) The result was a rather large dent in the ground where the teacher;s head hit the ground. India loved the mountain biking today, enjoyed getting wet but not getting muddy. Her bike needed hosed down at the end after a fun session. Luke has tried every activity set him and pushed himself which is the whole point of camp, while motivating those around him,

The disco is about to start and Kayla has requested that modern pop music is played, not those ancient 90's tunes. No pressure on the djs then. The only person to get a row for not scrubbing their waterproofs clean was Mr Napier- everyone else passed the test. :(

 The seashore scramble/swimming with seals

 Kris, Joe, Lee and Oscar complete their diaries.

India hanging about. 

 Kyle tests how deep the puddles are.

 Charlie completing the mountain biking,

 Another Mrs McKay selfie with Luke, Joe, Kenny, Kayla, India and Ellie.

 Kyle models the new over the shoulder harness.

Charli and Ellie relaxing. 

The disco was a great success after a slow start. They all danced well and threw themselves wholeheartedly into the disco and they all fell asleep fairly quickly. 

Pupils have bounced out of bed this morning and have had breakfast which was cereal, porridge, toast, sausages and beans. Rooms have now been tidied and the room inspection has taken place. Has camp changed them? They now tuck in sheet corners, adjust duvets and are helping each other fold clothes. I caught Kyle Hamilton remonstrating with another pupil that he simply had to hoover his bedroom.
Over breakfast I was hearing how Leah, Charlie and Zenap had enjoyed climbing a waterfall yesterday then having hot chocolate at the top.

The birthday boy.

Getting ready for the forest walk.

Mountain bikers- are you ready?

Kris, Zenap, Robbie, Declan C, Samantha, Leah, Kenny and Codie have just been caving. We walked up a fairly large hill before entering the caves by being lowered down by rope. Declan was unhappy with the climb and camp staff were asked why the caves were not built nearer the bottom of the hill. Next year the caves have to be moved! This group are tackling the indoor climbing wall this afternoon, then abseiling outdoors after that. Declan C attempted the inverted climbing wall and nearly made it to the top. Zenap loved the abseiling. Zenap, Codie, Declan C and Samantha were all belaying their peers as part of the climbing, learning how to keep their peers safe when climbing. Leah was up all the indoor climbing walls in record quick time. Robbie P completed all the walls but did find the inverted wall a challenge. Well done Robbie. Mr Napier even made it to the top of one of the walls. 

The rain continues to fall but Lee, Robbie, Alan, Luke, Joe W and Kenny managed to get full points in the room inspection this morning so they were rather happy.
Ellie K loved the abseiling and climbing while others who were less confident still gave it a go. Lee was more nervous on the inside wall but was first down the bigger, wetter and slippery outdoor quarry wall when abseiling, having conquered his fears. Kyle H loved the kayaking, and Kayla who had never been in a kayak before excelled. Callum was extremely enthusiastic and helped those around him on the water having done it before. Mr Smith let nearly half the loch into his kayak and emerged looking like the creature from the blue lagoon. Warm showers were needed by all. Did I mention the sun came out. For 20 minutes. Mr Smith took a photo of it.
Diaries were completed tonight and pupils visited the tuckshop before we had a film night. All of them have fallen asleep tonight in record quick time having worked exceptionally hard today.

Declan on the inverted climbing wall.

 Evan storming up the indoor wall.

 Gorge walking selfie (note the mudpacks)

 Joe indicating the water is a little chilly.

Ellie and Hannah in the gorge.

Quiet time and diary time. India is probably writing about how much steak pie she ate this evening, 

Day 2
Pupils are up now and getting themselves washed and ready for breakfast which is at 8.30am. Following this there will be a room inspection and a briefing before activities start at 9.30am.
Pupils are feverishly cleaning their rooms and preparing for the inspecting staff. Breakfast this morning was cereal, toast, bacon and eggs.
We all sang happy birthday to Kris and gave him his card signed by all of the P7 campers and staff.
Robbie is organising his dorm beautifully and they are looking ready. Luke has been wrestling with his duvet cover and Jian is getting ready to do the 'hovering' (not a typo)- he just liked the sound of this more than hoovering.
Charlie P and Charli have been cleaning the dining room and Declan C has been ensuring the bins in his room are clear and tidy. They are working well as a team and definitely developing some positive work habits. :)

Another very busy day. Declan S and Tai proved very confident and capable at rock-climbing, with Tai mastering the inverted slope on the indoor climbing frame. Alan was hesitant at first but his confidence grew throughout the session, as did Rebecca's confidence. She has quietly approached all challenges set her so far despite being a little apprehensive, and even managed a wry smile while abseiling down a 100 foot cliff face. Joe Webster was the fastest orienteerer this afternoon completing the course in an unbeaten 3 mins 3 seconds. Two of the group were 'rescued (or assisted) by the offer of a lift from the groundsman who was returning to the centre. We thought their times were a little quick..........

Kayla managed to flood her welly boots when gorge walking this afternoon and had water running inside her waterproofs into her boots. She did retell this story with a huge smile on her face. Kris has had a fun filled birthday and as a gift has had Mrs McKay to be his slave for the day. He has great plans for her to write his camp diary this evening. We had birthday cake for him this afternoon and all sang happy birthday to him. 

Joe Moffat, India, Kyle H and Codie were on table setting duty and have done a lovely job getting the dining room ready for tonight. 

Dinner was sweet and sour chicken then jelly and ice cream which went down well. The evening activity was an indoor quiz all around the centre and pupils were paired up with pupils from the other school. There are still one or two rooms still chatting but other than that they are nearly all asleep. 

Rebecca wins when abseiling- all in a day's work.

Planning a route for the orienteering.

The bathing facilities have a little to be desired.

 We found berries.

Can you tell?

Day 1
The journey here was uneventful and only one person was travel sick on the way here, and even then it was as we were practically pulling into Benmore.
I arrived once all the children were in bed (10.10pm), and much to our surprise they all remained in bed from then onwards. There were only a few voices still going later on.
Despite it being a little damp the rain did not deter the children at all who unpacked, were issued their red water proofs and explored the centre.
Dinner was fish and chips and seemed to be enjoyed by most before children prepared themselves for the evening activity which was the night line. There is no ambient light so it was dark (and wet- might be a bit of a theme for this week) and pupils quickly worked out how to stay on the line, describe obstacles to each other, and support each other. Mr Smith did not get stuck crawling through the pipe that is part of the course. Photographs to follow once I find Mrs Mills.