Enrichment Day 2024

On 25 September, students from Years 8-12 were treated to a day of fun which would result in a leap in their present educational pursuits. However, the new Year 7s were flung into the deep end (no pun intended) with a trip to the United Kingdom Sailing Academy (UKSA) early on this academic year, allowing the students to get to know one another and to find their feet in unfamiliar circumstances: a crucial part of growing up.

The trips are expertly picked to challenge the boys, putting their independence and teamwork skills to the test. Some students have written accounts of their trips as a reflection of their experiences. Let’s hear what they had to say…

Year 7 - UKSA:

On our trip to the Isle of Wight (UKSA 2024) we had a great time. As we came through the gates of the sailing academy and down towards the slipway, we were met by the cheerful cries of the seagulls around us. The instructors led us on a tour of the site before starting our first trip activity: water confidence. This included sprinting full pelt into the sea and testing our abilities in cold water. We then enjoyed paddle boarding off the pontoon. After this, our forms enjoyed a nighttime stroll through Cowes to see the sites and learn about the history of England’s biggest island.

The next morning we sleepily wandered down to the breakfast hall where we were served freshly cooked sausages and bacon, followed by optional toast and eggs. Our activity that morning was keel boating. This required complete concentration at all times, enough to stop you from falling in! There were three main jobs: steering the rudder, managing the engine (when it was on) and keeping control of the sails which was my personal favourite activity of the entire trip.

On our last day, we had to quickly change into our wetsuits and run out onto the slipway ready for the next activity - raft building. We built rafts with different types of material to fit everyone on to float to the pontoons and back. This was so much fun, as our raft split apart and everyone had to swim back, clinging on to whatever they could find - trying to keep the ropes above the surface.

What a great trip! We learnt so much about each other (especially the ones in our dorms). Thank you to all the teachers who took us.

Year 8 - RAF Hendon:

This school trip was superb. Mr Tansley and other staff kindly gave up their Wednesday to create an amazing experience for us.

Learning about the historical importance of our nation during the First and Second World Wars was incredibly interesting and eye-opening. I had never really appreciated how much time and effort our pilots put into saving Britain. Additionally, the lecture regarding certain individuals was so informative, I will be going back to RAF Hendon in my free time!

Year 9 - Wize-up:

This year, Enrichment Day for the Year 9s consisted of five excellent and thought-provoking workshops. Two challenged us physically with street dance and yoga while the rest were mentally challenging and topical.

The street dancing was led by a dancer from Urban Streets and was something not many of us had done before. It was slightly humiliating learning the moves and performing it in front of our peers.

Overall though, it was great fun and we even got to learn some authentic Atlantan moves! Yoga was also a bit painful in some of the stretches, but it was good to challenge ourselves with some tricky Crows. The other themes were also challenging, but more for our brains.

We talked about some heavy topics: relationships and sex, online safety and drug addiction. Our speaker for the drugs and gangs workshop was particularly inspirational - Paul Hannaford. He came in to share his lessons on how to stay safe around gangs and drugs, having made mistakes himself in the past. It was quite tough hearing about when he was an addict and the shocking photos to show the result of his long-term addiction.

It was not an ordinary school day, but we all enjoyed it and it showed us how to dance, relax and be safe not only in real life but also online.

This is a taster as to some of the activities at DCGS and is merely a microcosm of the extent to which the school goes to give the students a great time at secondary school.

Another big thanks to the staff members who put these trips together every year, we appreciate them very much!