Last Friday, Years 4 and 5 travelled to Norbury Park for their final Francis Holland Foresters trip of the academic year. Norbury Park has become a familiar setting for the girls now. As soon as they disembark from the buses they run into the woodland and are instantly at ease. As teachers we are seeing the continued positive impact our forest school curriculum is having on the girls. The girls focused on their knife skills in the morning, whittling sticks in order to make butter knives and envelope knives. In the afternoon they studied the significance of mandalas as spiritual and cultural symbols. They were then tasked with creating their own mandalas using natural resources from the forest floor. The final pieces were wonderful with many girls producing far superior mandalas than the teachers. Hot chocolates were replaced with ice lollies owing to the summer sun which both year groups were thrilled with. An outstanding season for the foresters with all girls being equipped with a wide array of bushcraft skills as well as fostering inquisitive minds.
Mr Russell, Year 6 Class Teacher
