Day 3 got off to a cheery start with 117 voices ringing round the Green Room with a chorus of Happy Birthday for Hayaan’s birthday! Then it was off to breakfast in either the upstairs or downstairs dining rooms, depending on our teams. We were getting used to our daily routines by now, so after we had finished our toast and cereal, we made our sandwiches and took them to our meeting rooms for our morning meetings.
Team 7 spent the morning taking part in the Team Challenges. Mustafa (P7.28) told us that his team spent quite a bit of time in their meeting room discussing ‘what makes a quality team’ before tackling the challenges. The team agreed that in order to have a quality team, their top three tips would be: 1. Don’t argue; 2. Don’t leave anyone behind; 3. Try to have fun. Lloyd (P7.27) admitted that while this is easy to say in theory, it is a lot more difficult to put into practice when you actually find yourself in a real life problem-solving situation. “We were arguing quite a lot to begin with as everyone had different ideas of what to do. We really need to keep working on that.” Stephen (P7.25) said that “trying to get across the ‘pond’ was fun. I enjoyed trying to work out how to lift up the ‘can of toxic waste’ – we solved that problem pretty quickly.”
Mustafa (P7.28) went on to talk about the Spiderweb challenge. “We had to work together to get our whole team through a ‘spiderweb’ made out of rope. Stephen went first as he’s quite strong, and then we had to help each other through.” Scott (P7.25) then described how they tackled the Gutterball challenge. “We each had to hold (and keep steady) a piece of plastic guttering and get a ball to travel along our construction. The best way to succeed at this challenge is as soon as the ball leaves your gutter, you have to quickly make your way to the end of the line ready to catch the ball again. If people aren’t ready to catch the ball after it has travelled along your gutter, you have to balance it to keep the ball from rolling off.”
After all the problem solving activities, it was time for a bit of relaxation. Emma (P7.28) enjoyed the rope swing: “We all had a shot; it was fun”. The team also explored the ruins of the original Castle Toward and learned about the history of the feuds between the Lamont and the Campbell clans. They even saw the ancient cave where the prisoners of the clan uprisings were kept!
Energised by our lunches, we went on to our afternoon challenges, which ranged between High Ropes, Orienteering, Gorgewalking, Archery and Hillwalking. Team 6 were lucky to have beautifully sunny afternoon (with a few showers) for their hillwalk to the summit of Buachailean (rising 346m or 1135 feet behind Castle Toward) which encouraged them to develop leadership and map reading skills. Sami (P7.26) and the rest of Team 6 showed great determination and enthusiasm in their ascent to the top of the hill, where we had some spectacular views across to the Isles of Bute, Cumbrae and Arran, looking back to Gourock. On reaching the trig point at the top of the hill (a stone pillar used by the Ordnance Survey to help construct their maps) Raaj (P7.26) exclaimed, “I am so happy to reach the top that I can’t stop smiling!” After a quick descent, hot showers were welcomed by all, and we slipped back into our usual evening routine of dinner, relaxation time (we were lucky enough to have a lovely sunny evening which meant that we could play and relax outside on the Castle lawns), night activities and bed. Calum (P7.26) summed up his experience perfectly: “It’s amazing how many things you can do in one day!”
