It’s a Berkhamsted tradition to treat our new Year 7s to a day of Bushcraft fun at the Outdoor Education campus: this year was no different. Boys and Girls worked together in their new Houses to build fires, construct dens, make bracelets and (most importantly) cook a delicious lunch together.

As part of their induction into Berkhamsted Girls and Berkhamsted Boys, Year 7 spend a day in the woods learning all about survival skills. Completing a series of activities together in their new Houses, which will form their main pastoral base while at School, our new Year 7s are tasked to work together to learn new skills.

“It’s an opportunity for them to spend the day outside, having new adventures, learning new skills,” explained Beth Smith, Director of Outdoor Education at Berkhamsted. “There’ll be lots of problem-solving and team building naturally within the tasks they’ll do.”

The first task of the day was to build a shelter. After learning different knot techniques, and assembling every loose piece of wood in the area, our pupils created cosy shelters that would keep them safe and dry. Some houses were adventurous in their shelter-building, and climbed nearby trees to add extra elevation and effect. Another made a mini golf course!

“We used our creative juices to put together something with our leader and our friends,” one Year 7 boy shared. “We built a bit more friendship and practised teamwork!”

Icebreaker activities were also in play all day, allowing pupils to get to know each other better. Many also challenged pupils to talk to people outside their House, approaching new people with questions and common ground. “I think the biggest lesson for me was building friendships, getting that little bit of courage to talk to more people,” another boy shared. “And also, that ounce of survival!”

Next, it was time to build the fire that would cook lunch. This took a lot of experimenting with flint and steel, using cotton wool as a starter. Within the Houses, pupils worked together to gather dry wood to stoke the fire, while protecting it from wind and rain.

The fire was closely protected by all- likely because of what it was soon to hold: lunch! Pupils ran across the woods to gather the vegetables they would need to make their stew. After water had been collected, and the vegetables had been cut down to smaller, biteable sizes, they were boiled with rice to make a delicious lunch. “It was really surprising because I didn’t think I was going to like it and I actually really enjoyed it: making it and eating it,” one Year 7 girl shared. The cherry on top was a bag of marshmallows for each house, providing a well-needed sweet treat after a busy morning of survival skills.

Year 7 returned to school tired and happy, with the strong smell of campfire following them home. We hope our pupils found their day useful: certainly, their leadership, collaboration and communication skills were challenged, and they had the opportunity to connect further with their housemates.