Year 8 Big Weekend

The Year 8s began Saturday evening boisterous and full of energy on the coach over to Downe House.  When we arrived we were met by just three girls to take us to the venue. Swiftly the atmosphere changed and the bouncy tigers became timid kittens observing the perfect gentlemanly manners, one of their staff mentioning ‘Only Elstree boys are this well-mannered.’  There must be something in the water at Elstree!

After the introductions and a few nervous giggles, the social was in full flow.  There was a steady stream of wood-fired pizzas, sprite zero and quizzing (too cold and wet for tennis) to set the mood.  The boys and girls chatted, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company until the eventual winners of the quiz was announced, everyone had had their fill of pizza (14 slices being the record) and the usual exchange of Instawotzit and snappy do dah account details.  The boys then headed back to Elstree and settled for a good night’s sleep before the much anticipated Zorb football.

Once a huge full English breakfast had been inhaled by all, the morning activities could begin. Zorb football. A simple idea: one climbs into a large bubble and then clatters into others also in a large bubble, football in its loosest sense where the thought of a ball, goals or even team mates are thrown away to line up a full speed wipe out of a mate and the satisfaction of seeing their feet fly into the air whist doing a summersault and crashing to the ground, knowing that both of you will be unharmed in the process.  The boys also enjoyed sometime on the lake in canoes, kayaks and the rowing boat, largely taking interest in our new residents – two mamma ducks with 16 baby ducklings, and a family of Geese with a nest of eggs soon to be little hatchlings. But also testing each other’s mettle in the cold water before a nice warm bath and a fresh set of clean clothes.

All in all a successful Big Weekend and sadly the last these Year 8s will have at Elstree.  One boy summed it up nicely at the end of the weekend as I said ‘This marks the first of the last things you do at Elstree’, he then said ‘It may have been the last one sir, but it was also the best!’