The Williams Cup has finished for the year and it proved to be every bit as challenging and hard as in previous years, indeed perhaps more so!
In a change to the usual formula, Year 9 headed up to Haytor on Dartmoor. There was slight trepidation from the year group when seeing the imposing Dartmoor terrain, but they settled in quickly to the task at hand- namely building themselves some shelters for the night. They also had to create and sustain a campfire and whilst the rain eventually came, most were still in high spirits, with a particular mention to both girls houses who went out of their way to decorate their shelter! With everyone fed and the camps tidied up, the rain was well set until about 2300 when it lifted and gave way to an amazingly clear night with the stars in abundance, although most of the year were by this stage fast asleep!
The conditions were austere but the group coped admirably, showing great resilience and fortitude to come through smiling the next morning with the sun gracing us with its presence for the whole day, a welcome change from the previous night. The Houseparents’ arrived around 0900 when a round robin of outdoor activities commenced in the vicinity of Haytor. There was team building in the quarry and Weaselling and bouldering at Smallacombe rocks, Navigation around Holwell Tor and Haytor Down and a river crossing problem solving task in the vicinity of Leighon Tor. All of these activities were approached with the utmost of enthusiasm from Year 9, with each house certainly developing more of a house identity and learning more about the strengths and weaknesses of everyone on the team. There was a considerable amount of milage covered by all with the magnificent setting of Dartmoor adding to the intensity of the inter-house competition. There were some outstanding displays of both teamwork and leadership and all the houses can look back and be proud of how they conducted themselves over the whole competition. The combination of the inclement conditions at the start and the challenging tasks set to them meant that they had no option but to work together as a house in order to achieve the goal and accrue as many points as possible for the Williams Cup.
Overall, it was a memorable experience for all involved and showed clearly what the year group is made of, exhibiting the indomitable Blundellian spirit and coming through it together, as a team.