A view from a Year 7 Guernsey camper
It reads on the school powerpoint ‘The Trip of a Lifetime'. It isn't joking. The trip magically transforms teachers and students from strict class masters and Birmingham chavs to a family.
Guernsey is the cleanest Island that I think you'll ever find in the world. There is pretty much no litter to be found anywhere on the tiny island. My favourite part of Guernsey was the campsite. Not because of my warm sleeping bag and tent that was there, but because of the atmosphere. The same atmosphere that had everyone smiling, ‘The Guernsey Spirit.
It was a lot of fun on the Island. My favourite moment was when Miss. Stevens got so fed up with Mr Perry's bad singing and dancing that she threw him off the minibus. Poor Mr Perry had to chase after the bus before Miss Stevens took pity on him and let him back on.
There's a lot to do on Guernsey. It could be playing tennis, sun bathing or in Mr Stephenson's case standing on the minibus dancing to Queens ‘We will Rock You'! My favourite evening of activities was when we had a disco and awards ceremony. A lot of people had a ton of fun and congratulations to Kate Kelly & Jake Breen for both winning girl & boy camper of the year 2010.
I would like to say thank you to all the staff, advance boys and Year 10 girls who worked so hard for our Guernsey family of 2010. Another thank you goes to the family of the staff who had to miss their loved ones for two whole weeks! An extra special thanks to ‘daddy Freddo' for organising the whole thing.
Millie King, Year 7
A perspective from a staff 1st timer
What a way to end my year at St Thomas Aquinas! Like the many year sevens who made Guernsey their home for ten days in July, I too was new to this experience. And now it is all over (and how quickly the time has gone!) I can't help already but wish I was back around the camp fire singing at the tops of our voices, or preparing for talent shows, or singing on the mini-bus journeys, or even just learning how to make eggy bread!
I am writing this a few days after our return from Guernsey 2010 and thoughts and memories from the trip have barely left my head. There are so many to choose from that recounting them all here would be way too great a task. But, the overall thought that springs to mind about the past ten days is that of 'fun'. The Guernsey camp has been so much fun, just ask any of the fantastic year seven's who were here! The camp feels like something you can only really appreciate if you have been lucky enough to be part of it and shared in such a wonderful experience.
The spirit of the pupils made Guernsey 2010 what it was, and I am very proud to have been part of the Guernsey family that they have created. I will look back on the last ten days for years to come with one resounding thought: how much fun it was! Here's to the Guernsey family of 2010!
Mr Brett Robinson
Boy Camper of the Year 2010
Guernsey for me was not just good, it was sold as told a ‘Trip of a lifetime' and that's how it was. Yes, I missed home but Mr Stephenson, all the staff and the advanced party made the campsite feel like my other home. I did things here that can never be taken away from me, things that will stay in my head and heart forever, friends that will stick with me until the end. The staff put all their effort into making it amazing for us. Like when we went to Herm Island, Mr Perry and the advance party lads where more focused on making the BBQ than enjoying their day. Whilst we were sunbathing and making sculptures on Shell beach, they were rushing off to make the BBQ on another party of the island.
We were taught that smiling and having fun was not a sin and as Mr Stephenson said 'Ordinary Brummy school kids' - Yes, we should smile and show the people of Guernsey what Birmingham folk are really like, and we did. We made him and the staff very proud.
My favorite thing in Guernsey was definitely the mini bus rides. They were all crazy with techno music on full blast, singing and the terrible two sum (Mr Perry and Mr Stephenson) dancing. The German Occupation Museum was amazing, really interesting and was a great laugh. It was truly a trip of a lifetime and I hope the following year groups enjoy it as much as we did, because it has made a real difference to me and the others on the Guernsey 2010 camp. Thank you Mr Stephenson, Mr Perry, Mr Houston, Mr Tinsley, Miss Connolly, Miss Devlin, Mr Robinson, Miss Loughrey, Miss Fleming, Miss Stevens, it was amazing.
Jake Breen, Year 7
|
Subscribe to this feed 
