Children from Jurby School have enjoyed a trip to the Lake District.

Over the last three years the school has worked with Ardwhallan Outdoor Education Centre to develop the children’s learning in the outdoors.

They have focussed on the skills of team work, resilience and problem solving.

The children, aged between nine and 11, climbed, kayaked, swan abd mountaineered, as well as surviving a week without a mobile phone signal, access to the Internet, and having to cook, wash up and look after themselves, with help from the adults.

The school says that, for many children, the biggest personal challenge was a high ropes course.

Headteacher Will Nelson said: ’This involved them conquering their fear of heights, working together and planning ahead in order to reach the triple 100m zip wire at the end of the two-hour trail.

’During the week the children were involved in assessing the risks of each activity and learnt about perceived and actual risk.

At the beginning many of them thought that the high ropes course was a particularly high-risk activity, due to their perception of the risk involved with the heights.

’However, once the safety equipment had been taken into account, including the continuous safety line they were attached to, they began to understand that it was a safe activity.

’In comparison a walk through the centre of a busy town, with crowded pavements, large vehicles less than 50cm away, and pollution, is in many ways much more dangerous.

’The children learnt about treating the great outdoors with the respect it deserves, how to carry out dynamic risk assessments, taking into account the ability of the whole team, and altering plans as they go to keep everyone safe.’

The week ended on Thursday with an ascent of Great Gable, considered to be one of the classic Lake district peaks, as well as one of the more challenging.

The route involved climbing Green Gable before dropping back down, to then scramble up to the summit of Great Gable.

Mr Nelson said: ’This was the first time that a Manx primary school had reached the summit and was a major achievement for them all. They then walked back down via Styhead Tarn, where they had a refreshing wild swim in a mountain tarn on route before carrying on back to the bunk house they were staying in.

’By the end of the week the children were all exhausted but happy and reported that it was the best school trip they had ever been on.’

Mr Nelson, who accompanied the children, thanked Paul Melling, head of centre Ardwhallan, and all his team for organising the trip.

Mr Melling said it had been pleasure watching the children grow and ’engage’ with the outdoors.

He said: ’I feel it has not only enriched their learning in school but has enhanced their lives, developing the problem solving skills they will need for the future as they head to secondary school and beyond. We hope to keep our close partnership with Jurby School and develop it further in the years to come.’