On Friday afternoon, 16 September, our Prefects and Chapel Wardens took part in a team-building afternoon on New Field. With the afternoon organised by WiseUp, it provided the perfect opportunity for the pupils to engage in fun activities and tasks, while working on key skills for their respective positions.
Beginning with a warm-up activity, the pupils were initially paired up back-to-back, and asked to link arms. Their task? To sit down and then stand up again – an easy feat one might think! While some pairs found this to be straightforward, it proved to be much more of a challenge for others.
The activity ended with the Prefects and Wardens joining together to form two long columns to tackle the challenge on a larger scale. After multiple attempts, the cheers were bound to be heard from the Davies Centre when they succeeded.
With the pupils split into four teams, each representing either the Prefects or the Wardens, the groups set off to complete a variety of challenges. These included using a lot of teamwork and communication to achieve the result.
Challenges included moving a small ball around an obstacle course on a board with holes. A lot of careful balance and patience was required for this with the phrase ‘slow but steady’ coming to mind. Of course, this would soon be discarded by the teams in timed challenges.
Other challenges included puzzles where in one, teams had to move blue and yellow objects to the opposite sides. This proved to be one of the more challenging activities – not made any easier where one false move could land the team in a dead end and forced to restart.
Throughout the afternoon, there was very much an air of competitiveness that was felt by all four teams. This culminated in a dramatic finale when the final scores were read out. In what was a tense affair, the results of the afternoon were announced at an agonisingly slow pace - adding to the tension and anticipation. With only 0.07 points separating the top two teams, victory in the end went the way of the Prefects, much to their elation.
Speaking after exercise, Revd Chris Briggs said, "In the team building afternoon, I’m always impressed by the enthusiasm, kindness and courtesy that the Prefects and Chapel Warden show in supporting each other through each task. It is a clear expression by our student leaders of the values of the College."
We are sure that everyone who took part in the exercises and activities enjoyed them immensely and thank you to WiseUp for organising a thoroughly entertaining afternoon.
