Year 8 Camp 2023

The teacher in charge of the Year 8 Camp is Ms Cunningham visits@cncs.co.uk

The school is organising a weekend outdoor activity camp for our Year 8 students in October.

The camp will involve a full programme of activities provided by TrekCo (see below for further details) including rock scrambling, abseiling, canoeing, tunnelling, high rope activities, low ropes, indoor climbing wall and evening events. The camp is a part of the school’s ongoing Outdoor Education programme and will provide an opportunity for students to participate in their first camp.

Dates: Students will leave after school on Friday 29th September returning to the school at approximately 6.00pm on Sunday 1st October 2023.

The Group: There are places available for approximately 120 students and it is anticipated that the group will be this size overall. Students will be supervised by approximately 10 members of school staff; there may be times when students are supervised by instructional staff. There will be short periods where students are more loosely supervised such as during break times. The school’s member of staff organising this trip is Miss Cunningham; others are to be confirmed.

Location: The camp is to be held at Blackland Farm near East Grinstead, which is a fully equipped campsite with hot showers and other facilities. Tents are for 5-6 students; there is also indoor accommodation – you may select the accommodation type (subject to availability) on your application form for the camp.

Instruction: During the camp activities are provided by TrekCo, with whom we have been organising camps for 31 years - we have always found them to be excellent. This is a local company and you can be confident that the instruction is of the highest standard. The company is fully licensed for outdoor activity providers under the Young Persons’ Safety Act.

All instructors are fully qualified in the activity which they are directly supervising and the school holds full details of these qualifications. The company is licensed under the Outdoor Adventure (Young Persons’ Safety) Act, registered number R0043, details at www.aala.org.uk and the company is responsible for organising, running and managing the safety of all instructed activities. More information can be found at www.trekco.com.

Transport is by coach to and from the venue. This is provided by local coach company Regency Coaches. Some activities require short transfers by minibus; all seats are forward facing with seatbelts and drivers are qualified according to the school’s policy on minibus driving.

Parent Information Meeting – Please see the video below.

Cost: The cost of camp works out at £143.00 including insurance per student and we invite parents to help cover this cost by way of voluntary contributions. Unfortunately the trip may not be able to go ahead if insufficient voluntary contributions are received. Our Newman Pledge guarantees all students have certain experiences over the course of their time with us. We will work with families of our disadvantaged students to ensure their child has the same opportunities to attend. we have reserved a number of place to ensure everybody gets the same opportunity and will be in contact with you separately. If you would like to help towards our disadvantaged students taking part and are happy to contribute financially to this a donation can be made via ParentPay under the Visits and Equipment fund. Please add a note in the basket to say you would like the funds to go towards a Year 8 Camp place.

Payment Schedule:

Please make the deposit of £73.00 by 28th July to secure your child's place followed by £70 by 1st September.

The Principal and Governors reserve the right to cancel any trip at short notice. Cancellations occur for a number of reasons; however, a trip will not proceed if it is not financially viable. In these circumstances full refunds will be made to parents.

We are taking steps to allow pupils to enjoy visits in line with the government’s roadmap and Covid 19 safety guidelines. The roadmap is driven by data, not dates. Should the trip be cancelled due to government announcements in relation to Covid, full refunds will be made to parents.

Please be aware that if you cancel your child’s place we cannot guarantee any payments you have already made will be refunded. The level of refund will depend on the level of refund we can negotiate with the provider, or whether your place can be transferred to another child. The school will not withhold refunds if either of these arrangements has been possible. We will make any possible refund payments at the point we are confident the school will not incur a loss as a result of your cancellation.

It is essential that all parents/carers make the Party Leader of this visit aware of any medical needs your son/daughter might have that will require individual attention whilst on the visit. These can be mental, emotional or physical needs that may affect your son/daughter and their time on the residential visit. This is to ensure the safety of your child whilst on this visit and so strategies can be put into place to safeguard your child. It is advisable to check the insurance details and conditions with reference to your son/daughters needs and to inform the school as soon as possible. A medical consent form will be sent out nearer the time, please email visits@cncs.co.uk if there are any ongoing conditions you would like to discuss with Ms Cunningham.