Upton pupils tackle assault course and learn survival skills

Adventure for Upton youngsters

Children at Upton Junior School Broadstairs have leapt straight into the storybook world they are reading in Jacqueline Wilson’s Cliffhanger.

In the tale young Tim is unwittingly sent off to an adventure centre – and the Year 3 readers found themselves in the same spot when Creed outdoor adventure specialists came to school.

Activities included a climbing wall, assault course and survival skill techniques.

Head of Year 3 Fran Pellett said: “What better way of immersing children in the text they are reading than to experience something similar for themselves.”

All children were given the opportunity to push themselves to the limits and reach the giddy heights of the climbing wall and even Mrs Pellett took on the challenge and reached the top.

In addition, the children competed against each other in a state-of-the-art assault course before testing their survival skills by building shelter and lighting fires.

Mrs Pellett added: “I am so proud of each and every one of the children. Many of them faced challenges they have never tried before and they did very well.

“Their teamwork and resilience has been excellent and it has been great to listen to the children encouraging one another to push themselves that little bit further.

“This is a fine example of what Upton does so well, bringing the curriculum to life, and I’d like to thank the team at Creed and Mrs Ballen for helping to make this happen.

“It was a fantastic memorable day that our Year 3 experienced together and they will be talking about it and reliving their stories about it for a long time.”