There was much excitement in the air as our first trip of the school year approached. These enrichment trips are so important for us here at Fair Isle. Firstly, and very importantly, they give our learners the chance to stay overnight at the Halls of Residence in Lerwick where they will eventually be staying once they transition to Anderson High School. The hostel staff always look after us so well and we love their delicious food and comfortable flat we have the opportunity to stay in.

The trips also give us chance to take part in activities that we do not have access to here in Fair Isle, such as swimming lessons, which again are very important to us. We also love spending time at Sandwick Junior High School, whom we are part of a Shared Headship with and our learners have the chance to sample life in larger classes with more peers of their own age. This is really important for our transition work too. The staff at Sandwick were so kind and produced staff “poplet” sheets for our learners and parents to learn more about the classes before they stepped foot inside them for this first trip of the year.

This trip really was a fantastic one. Jonathan and Hollie were full of praise for the learners as they plunged into all the activities with confidence and determination. There was great progress in the pool, super sprinting around the athletics track and glowing reports from teachers at Sandwick too. We even had time to meet our friends from Foula (the other remote island school in Shetland) for a pony show at Lerwick Marts as well as time in the playpark. Of course, there was a spot of retail therapy and hot chocolate in the Lerwick cafe to warm ourselves up too. Well done to everyone. We are very proud of you!