On 17th October 14 Year 8 pupils left Bishop Luffa behind for our first Wild Readers trip at the CYE barge, TS Resolute, in Chichester Harbour. It was an action-packed two days of facing the elements while kayaking, sailing and tunnelling, and although our outdoor campfire was rained off, the fantastic CYE staff helped us to create an indoor campfire in their lovely snug, with silly songs and games. Throughout our trip we read Julia Green’s The Wilderness War together, around our ‘campfire’, in shelters, in tunnels and out on the deck of the Resolute in the early morning sunshine. It was a great opportunity to take reading out of the classroom and give pupils the chance to build connections between the words on the page and the world around them. We enjoyed following Noah, Toby and the other children of the wilderness in the book, and thinking about how far we would go in defending the places that are special to us. We had a brilliant time making new friendships and trying new experiences. When asked what they would take away from the experience and the book, one pupil said ‘never give up and always try’. I think this really sums up what the Wild Readers trip was all about.
Mrs A Regan, Librarian