Mersea 2019

On the fifth of June, Earls Colne’s year sixes started the adventure of a lifetime. Once we arrived, we all took our luggage off the coach and prepared to go down to the beach. Mersea outdoors was next to the coast so it only took us a couple of minutes to walk down there.

On the sand, we all organised each other into groups to create art using the materials on the beach. Some of the objects we used were: sand, rocks, shells, seaweed, glass, tyres, dead crabs and other man-made objects that had been washed up on the shore. After making the masterpieces, we all looked at each other’s and took photos. We then made our way back to our cabins, where we were sleeping, and, with our groups, one, two, three or four, we set off in the direction of our first activity.

Some of the activities were: kit karts, which was when you had to build a cart and then drive down progressively harder hills; the adventure course, which included lots of mud and obstacles that involved teamwork; high ropes, which was quite scary as we were up very high but you were attached to a harness so you couldn’t fall and the zip wire where you were attached to strong wires and dangled from them. (Do not worry it was safe!) One of our favourite activities was ‘It’s a Knockout!’. This involved all of the groups competing against one another in a series of challenges that involved teamwork and getting VERY wet. One of these tasks was throwing a basketball or a netball into a barrel filled with water and then getting into the barrel. We then had to try to throw the ball into the net at the end. If you succeeded, you would earn one point for your team. As well as this, you could also gain points for your group by cheering others on. At the end, the team with the highest score won!

One evening, we all gathered for a disco in the common room after ’It’s a Knockout!’ There was a professional DJ to play the music of our choice and everyone enjoyed it. Before we went to bed, we all had hot chocolate and biscuits outside so we could cool down and relax after the disco. It lasted a couple of hours; most of us were extremely tired at the end and we practically fell into our bunks.

At Friday lunchtime, it was time to leave Mersea Outdoors. We dropped off our suitcases and bags in the common room and then left for our final two activities. It was quite windy that day so it was quite hard if you were climbing because you could be blown off the side of the wall. An advantage, however, was if you were on the zip wire you would zoom down the wire quicker than you normally could. After the activities, we went to the food hall where we ate lunch (it was delicious) and then loaded our coach with our personal items. We then boarded the coach and left for home!

By Evie  and Lara