Osmington Bay
The Osmington Bay Centre is set in 44 acres of sweeping Dorset downland, overlooking the sea, with panoramic views of Portland, Weymouth and Chesil Beach. At the end of the Spring term, girls in Year 6 have the opportunity to spend a residential week at the Osmington Bay Centre to participate in enjoyable geography projects, teambuilding and orienteering activities.
What is the weather like in Osmington Bay?
Click here to visit the BBC 5 day forecast for the area
Year 6 Trip 23-27 May 2011
Day 1 - Monday 23rd May 2011
(Updated at 6pm) We arrived safely at Osmington Bay at 3pm this afternoon. We had a lovely picnic at Lulworth Cove which was a beautiful (and slightly breezy) setting for our first group photo. After arrival, the girls settled into their chalets, before going on a tour of the site learning the ‘Banana Song.’ Our group leader is Chris. After dinner they will take part in a scavenger hunt in groups of five, then its lights out for us at 9.30pm. Next update will be Tuesday Morning.
Day 2 - Tuesday 24th May 2011
(Updated at 9am) We woke up to clear skies and a beautiful sunny morning. All the girls slept very well after a tiring night and are in good spirits. After encouragement to get up (although some were up early eager to start the day), we set off to breakfast. The girls have now returned to their dorms and are rushing to get ready for their first activity of the day (Abseiling, Archery or Orienteering) and also preparing for room inspection. The tidiest room at the end of the week will be receiving a prize. This afternoon we are down on the beach Rockpooling.
(Updated at 7pm) Our first activities of the day were great fun, with all teachers having a go at abseiling and archery with the girls. Miss Finlayson and Miss Stops’ group also started to make their own music video which they will complete later in the week to bring home. The other two groups will get the opportunity to make theirs tomorrow. After a hearty lunch we all clambered down eighty six steps (they all counted) to the beach for Rockpooling. We looked for organisms amongst the rocks and there were many shouts of delight as the girls found baby shrimps, fish and even a few crabs, the largest was named ‘Christina Crabulera.’ We have had blue skies all day and the girls are now looking forward to a trip to the shop followed by ‘Wacky Races’...more details and results to follow in the morning.
Day 3 – Wednesday 25th May
(Updated at 9am) Everyone slept much better last night, with all the girls getting off to sleep very quickly. They seem to have adjusted well, with no very early morning risers. Last night the girls played charades and then were set the challenge of building a contraption to protect a water balloon which would be dropped from a height. The girls designed and built a parachute. Did it work? I’ll let the girls tell you when they get home.
This morning the sun is bright and it should be a lovely day. We’ve had breakfast and the girls are getting kitted up with water and sun screen before we set off to the beach for our morning of field studies of Geology, Rocks and Fossils. Hopefully we can all find some fossils to bring home. This afternoon we are doing a mixture of Archery, PGL TV (Music Video), Abseiling and Zip Wire.
(Updated at 7.05pm) We’ve had a fantastic day! After a classroom session this morning, we set off to the beach to search for fossils on a coastline well known for its abundance of fossilised rocks. The girls had a lovely walk along the beach and collected lots of fossils. They enjoyed their fossil hunting and have lots of different types to bring home to show you and display at school. This afternoon everyone enjoyed their activities - especially the Zip Wire which some described as “thrilling,” “awesome” and “zippy”.
We have just had dinner and are just about to post our letters and postcards home. This evening we will be in the ICT labs studying fossils on a computer animation package.
Day 4 – Thursday 26th May
(Updated at 9am) The weather this morning is cloudy, which we hope will clear by the afternoon. All this exercise and fresh air has given the girls a healthy appetite and the girls are now heading back to their dorms after breakfast. Last night the girls really enjoyed the animation package, and they have all made cartoons of how fossils were formed, which have been saved on CD to bring back to school to show on Open Day.
This morning the girls will be doing more activities including Jacobs Ladder which tests team work and problem solving skills, and completing their Music Videos. In the afternoon their field studies will cover map reading skills, with an orienteering game and competition to help them learn about grid references and symbols.
(Updated at 7pm) We have been very lucky today with breaks in the cloud with the sun shining through. This morning the girls tackled Jacobs Ladder and Climbing which was quite challenging and those that overcame their fear and got to the top, or even half way up were very pleased with themselves.
This afternoon the group had a great map reading session, learning about six figure references and using them practically around the site, they also enjoyed making their own maps. Tonight is what we have all been waiting for...the Campfire. We are meeting at 7.30pm to sit round a cosy campfire and sing lots of songs which we have learnt. The girls are well practised as Chris has been getting the girls to sing as loud as they can everywhere they go!
Day 5 - Friday 27th May
(Updated at 8.45 am) This morning we were all up and out of our rooms with our suitcases packed before breakfast. With all the suitcases ready together the girls are having playtime before their first activities this morning. Some groups will be tackling the Climbing Wall and Jacobs Ladder as well as Orienteering
Last night the campfire was a roaring success with vigorous singing, dancing and actions. The five instructors must be very hoarse this morning after 1 ½ hours of enthusiastic singing. Our girls were certainly the loudest! We will be departing after lunch at approximately 1.30pm.
If you would like to see pictures of what the girls have been doing so far this week please visit