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Beattock and Moffat Academy Cluster

Residentials

S5/6 London Trip

During the recent February holidays, four senior pupils - Chloe, Holly, Logan and Isaac - accompanied by Mr Douglas and Miss McNaughton - went on an educational excursion to London. During the stay, the group visited many of the major London sights, with the highlights being a visit to the Tutankhamen Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, and a tour of the Houses of Parliament. The latter was particularly well received by the pupils. Many thanks to David Mundell MP for very kindly arranging this for us, and for giving us the use of his Parliamentary Assistant Sophie Ferdinand, who did a grand job describing the history of that wonderful building and explaining its modern day functions as the political heart of the country. It truly was a wonderful experience for our young people, and we are very grateful to David and Sophie for giving us this very rare opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at the workings of the Houses of Parliament.

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S5/6 pupils at the Tutankhamun Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, London.
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Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster.

Senior Trip June 2019

As part of their induction to senior school, pupils from S5 and S6 enjoyed two days at Dalguise Adventure Centre in Perthshire last week. This trip provided pupils with opportunities to enjoy a wide range of both team and individual activities, from hiking to abseiling. Fortunately, the weather was kind and pupils enjoyed the sun in beautiful surroundings. As the sun set, pupils gathered round the campfire before completing a quiz. As pupils embark on another challenging academic year, this trip helped to promote wellbeing whilst encouraging a positive, collective ethos among senior pupils.

Loch Ken

S2 Pupils headed to Loch Ken as part of Health Week activities in May 2019. As you can see from the photos, the pupils enjoyed the visit tremendously. Thank you to Miss Hart and Mr McCutcheon for arranging the trip.

 

Kenya with Camps International

Kenya with Camps International

 

P6 Residential

I wasn't too sure about going on the residential, but that all changed when we arrived at Hawes End centre. When all of our luggage was in the centre, a nice man called Russel showed us to the lounge room. The teachers then told us who we were in a room with and I was more than happy. We then had our packed lunch and that was great.

After everything was sorted out, we went on a hike up a hill. It led us into the woods where we sat in a pair of big wooden hands, splashed in the lake and played a game called 'predator'. When we came back, it was nearly time for dinner. Me and lots of other people were gentries on the first evening and had a posh dinner of three courses of soup, Christmas dinner and a lovely pudding. When tea was over, we got our pyjamas on and played some games. Finally, it was time for bed and we soon drifted off to sleep.

Morning time! Up at seven, quick shower, dressed and breakfast at eight. The breakfast was delicious and filling (maybe because we had cereal and a cooked breakfast). We then had a bit of spare time in our rooms before going up a hill to visit a mine. We had to use head torches because it was so dark. It was quite scary because I slipped on the way up, but I was fine after that. It was quite sad to know that lots of Victorians had to work in those

conditions. We also found out that Beatrix Potter used to live somewhere around there.

When we returned, we got some warm, dry clothes on and started to do some felting with a lady we had to call `Your Majesty'. My theme was a small cottage on a hill. Just when we were about to finish, Mr Eccles, the strict leader of the servants came in and told us to get into our servant clothes. We did that quickly and made sure we were standing up straight in two perfect lines. We served the gentry and we had sloppy broth with bread then a piece of sponge cake.

I was glad when it was over. We had a rest in the lounge room where a lady came in and sung songs with us. We sung quite a few carols such as 12 days of Christmas and the First Noel.

 After she had left, we had the chance to buy something from the tuck shop. I bought a torch because it was quite dark in the room. We had a free hour to play or read before bed. When the time came, I was exhausted so I fell asleep pretty quickly.

Morning again, but this time I got up at 6:54 and chatted with my roommates. The breakfast was the same as the day before, cereal and cooked breakfast. Then we had to pack. That was a bit of a hard job for me because I had to squeeze everything into my bag.

Another lady came in and we got to play some Victorian games like hunt the ring, skipping and tug of war. When we went in, it was almost lunch time so we played charades. When I was picked, I acted out Gangster Granny and that was actually quite easy. When we had had lunch, we went off to the museum. I thought it was amazing but a little bit creepy because there was a dead 200-year-old cat and stuffed birds whose eyes followed you everywhere. There was also a piano made of different slate that Queen Victoria listened to!

When we arrived back, it was time to go home. So we got on the bus and set off back to marvellous Moffat.  

By Isla Weatherstone P6