On Friday 4th October, over 120 Year 7s from Fort Pitt Grammar School in Chatham, Kent took part in a teambuilding day, with activities led and managed by their sixth-formers as the final stage in a two-part sixth-form leadership development programme, organised and facilitated by local military youth leadership organisation, Challenger Troop CIC. Read more
Activities, which took place outdoors at Buckmore Park Scout Camp, Chatham, ranged from a military-style obstacle course to various
Year 7 balancing as part of the Challenger Troop obstacle course
command tasks, including spiders-web and Tower of Hanoi, and culminated in a Bake-Off style bread-making session in the woods, complete with an open fire, baked in Dutch ovens.
For the Sixth-Form, the aim of the day was to use their newly-learnt leadership skills to lead a fun, enjoyable teambuilding day for the Year 7s. To support this, Challenger Troop had previously run a leadership skills course with the sixth-formers where they learned leadership styles, qualities of an effective leader, communication skills and man and time management. When asked how well this prepared them for the team-building day Hannah, the events manager for the day, said “Really well, we learned the difference between managing and leading, something I will never forget.”
For the Year 7s, the aims of the day were to help them make friends, build teamwork and communication skills, and to challenge and extend themselves. Mrs Gordon, Senior Teacher at Fort Pitt said, “This day has been about the participants extending themselves, taking risks, trusting their abilities, being prepared to fail but ultimately succeeding. I am thrilled to see all our girls participating fully – what a great day!”
The sixth-formers, supported by Challenger Troop instructors, led and managed the different activities. They supported and encouraged their teams throughout the day.
Bread made in the woods, baked in a Dutch oven, cooked over an open fire
At the end of the day there was an awards ceremony which included the tasting and judging of the breads. The sixth-form team leaders all received medals and in turn awarded medals to those in their teams who had shown excellent leadership skills throughout the day. One young participant said “this is the best school trip ever!”
A key learning outcome of the day was the importance of listening to other team members. After all, one person does not always need to have 100% of the solution to a problem – if a team of 10 each have 10% of the solution and everyone listens to those in the team, then problem solved!
"Outdoor learning is giving them back their childhood wonder and curiosity at new things, allowing them to experience the marvel of discovery and the learning that comes from taking risks"
