Year 5 Camp - Goodwood (17 - 19/05/23)

One of the biggest things to happen for Year 5 this half term was the residential Year 5 Camp that took place from Wednesday 17th May until Friday 19th May. This year, in a break from tradition, we went to Goodwood and spent two nights sleeping in "The Stables". (This is the name of the accommodation near to Goodwood House, rather than where the horses are kept!)

On the Wednesday, we made our own way to Goodwood, said goodbyes to our parents and then we found out who we were to be sharing rooms with. We went inside and put our bags into our rooms. Mustering outside, we had a welcome briefing an then we walked from The Stables to Goodwood Farm. It was hilly, green and we passed horses and sheep.

Once we reached the Farm, we split into two groups. We saw a calf that has just been born (about 20 minutes before we arrived) and we saw the calf get carried away to be checked out and cleaned up. We then watched the calf being fed with milk from its mother, collected and then put into a bottle for the calf. Next to it, there were some older calves, and one of them kept trying to lick Mr Neaves! We also saw Duke, the new bull - he weighs more than a car! Esha said, "It's fun!"

We saw the process of turning cut grass into silage and we learnt that MacDonalds use milk from the farm!

Then we went back to the education centre to do some seeding before lunch, followed by a two hour walk in to the woods, taking turns churning butter as we went. Eventually the cos that were making their way to the milking sheds cleared the road, and we could watch them be milked before we returned to relax in our rooms and get ready for dinner.

On Thursday, after waking way too early, we headed over to our cooked breakfasts and cereal. On the way to Forest Schools, we were delayed by a horse that had broken out of its field, and we stopped so we didn't spook it, as we were close to a road. Eventually, Mrs Taylor was able to get enough of a bridle on it and lead it back to its field!

Before lunch, we toasted marshmallows, made chalk carvings, did clay jewellery making and some Japanese leaf art.

In the afternoon, Mr Hanna arrived to join us, and the class was spilt into two. One half of the class went to make dens for teddies! These dens were then shown off - and then tested with a watering can to see if they were weatherproof. In a strange "accident", Mr Neaves managed to pour water over Neha!

Meanwhile, the other half of the class was split into two again. One half of this (a quarter of the class!) went with Simon, our guide, to leave a trail for the others to follow. At the end, they hid and waited for the others to find them. The roles were then reversed.

Then the larger groups swapped over so that everybody could have a go at each activity.

We walked back to the accommodation to relax before dinner, and then played outside before collapsing in front of a film in the bar area!

On Friday, we had to pack up before breakfast so that we could get ready for our day.

Once the rooms were emptied, we walked to Goodwood House and met Richard who gave us a tour. We even got to sit at the table in the moan dining room, a treat not offered to many visitors!

This was followed by an orienteering event at Emperor's Brow, lunch and then some games.

We were all very pleased to see our parents when they came to collect us!