An adventure day is organised every year for Year 9 Kingsley girls  by World Challenge UK. This year's event took place in September at an outdoor centre in Bromsgrove.

The day gives the girls a brief taste of what to expect if they embark on *World Challenge expeditions, and it certainly seems to have inspired Sophie Pettipher and Hattie Hansen, aged 13, whose report follows. The girls believe that they achieved challenges they wouldn’t have attempted without the support of their team and they very much enjoyed having to think creatively to solve problems. They weren’t at all daunted by the constant rain; in fact, they revelled in the mud! Both girls are now determined to start the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme when they’re 14, and subsequently to participate in the World Challenge scheme.

Sophie and Hattie describe the day:

A day of challenge, rain, dirt and fun. The Year 9s of 2008 were the first to visit the world challenge centre in Bromsgrove; normally it’s held at school. Every other year, Sixth Form and Year 11 pupils go on a trip to somewhere like Thailand or Cambodia.  We had an adventure day to get a little taste of what this is like.

It was great fun, and the cold and rainy weather only seemed to make it more fun. We were divided into four groups, who all did different things. Our group did “the leap of faith”. Not everyone managed to jump off, but all of us gave it a go, and found it was a great achievement. A lot of people found climbing up the pole the hardest part, but for many jumping was the most terrifying part. Another group did Jacobs Ladder – they were really enthusiastic about that, too. There were many activities of teamwork, including the Spider's Web and challenges to do with swamps.

We all got extremely muddy and wet, but it was an amazing trip and a great day. We all got to know people in our year a lot better and a huge number of us would love to do it again.

*Over a hundred and sixty Sixth Form and Year 11 Kingsley students have taken part in World Challenge expeditions to the Indian Himalayas, Namibia, Peru, Guatemala, Cambodia and Thailand, and a group is currently preparing for our seventh expedition, which will depart for Sri Lanka in summer 2009. Leadership, teamwork, self-motivation, communication, confidence, responsibility, consideration for others and the ability to learn are key life skills developed during fifteen months of preparation and training and a demanding four week expedition, which includes community project work, trekking and cultural adventure.