If you visited Redmaids’ High Junior School on our Open Morning in November, you will have met Alice in Wonderland. Did you think of six impossible things before breakfast with her? Did you mix up a potion emotion? Then you started your own adventures in Wonderland.
An early challenge for Alice in Wonderland is to squeeze through the tiny door into the loveliest garden she ever saw. Now that she has seen it, she simply has to go. But she’s too big! What can she do?
“Oh how I wish I could shut up like a telescope” she laments. “I think I could, if only I knew how to begin.”
In Year 3, girls see the adventures they can have, and set their aspirations accordingly. We show them how to begin.
In the Autumn Term, Year 3 girls began their underground adventures with their first caving taster session. Getting into their helmets, head torches and boiler suits was the first challenge! Then they got to crawl and climb in the subterranean world beneath the Mendip Hills. Those who were scared were helped by those who weren’t. They chose their own level of challenge on different trails and everyone fizzed with achievement by the end of the afternoon. Caving trips take place throughout the Junior School with Mendip Activity Centre, culminating in the ultimate challenge, the Extreme Caving trip for experienced speleologists in Year 6:
The older girls say it’s awesome - will I be ready for the challenge?
The first Year 3 hockey fixtures have been played against other schools. It’s a new game for everyone and it’s tricky to avoid a honeypot as everyone swarms excitedly in the middle of the pitch. It’s so compelling when the ball is rushing towards you and the goal is enticingly close! Meanwhile, the Year 6 hockey team from the England Hockey National County Round were welcomed home, where they reached the quarter-finals:
Tournament hockey sounds amazing - I wonder if I will make the team?
Orienteering Club got underway with map reading skills, orientating to north using a compass and deciding which way to run to find the next control. Girls in Years 3-6 work together to decipher map symbols using an orienteering app, then practice navigating different courses in the school grounds. In November, the Year 6 team was triumphant at the British Schools Orienteering Championships, defending the title and bringing their age group trophy home again.
One day, I could come home with medals, too…
Now that Year 3 girls have seen what they could do, they want to have a go. The Junior School is an aspirational environment, motivating the younger girls to step up, work hard and rise to the challenges that await them. Their trajectory is mapped out; their journey has begun.
I could be a House Captain… Or a Librarian… Or an Almoner…
I think I could…
Because I’m learning how to begin.
The first term in Year 3 has been the trailer for the movie which is four years in the Junior School.
Watch our film to discover why we never underestimate our seven year-olds.