Year 7 UKSA Trip

During the third full week of school, new Year 7 students took part in the quintessential ice-breaker trip of the year: UKSA (the United Kingdom Sailing Academy). Pearson, Rayner and Thorne went for the first half of the week, whilst Foxell, Holman and Newman stayed from Wednesday to Friday.

I was positively buzzing with excitement during registration at the bus stop. UKSA was the perfect opportunity to try new things and make friendships, as well as to introduce us to the Challoner’s spirit that would shape our lives through our teenage years. Three hours on the bus brought us to Southampton, where we boarded the ferry for the final hour of our journey to reach the Isle of Wight. Once we arrived, we had a tour of the site and did our first activity.

Each day brought 3 new activities for us to enjoy. The first came 20 minutes after breakfast. Afterwards, we would have a quick lunch and prepare for the afternoon during the 30-minute break time. Then it was on to the afternoon activity. Finally, we had dinner and did our evening activity: a hike to a pebble beach one night, and a team-building activity on the other. The day finished with lights out at 10pm.

In conclusion, UKSA introduced us to the culture of our new school in a fun way, forming a strong foundation from which we can grow over the next few years of our lives. Not only did this trip introduce us to life at Challoner’s, but it also helped us learn things about ourselves. For instance, my favourite activity was Keelboating - I was put in charge of steering our boat, and I found out that I was really good at it! I feel honoured to have completed this important first step in my Challoner’s journey, and would like to say a big thank you to all the staff involved in organising such an important trip.

Writing: Reyansh (Year 7)

Editing: Alex (Year 12)

Photos: Staff