"In 16 years as a teacher, this has been the best residential I have ever been on..."
The team at the Urban Saints Westbrook Centre have been working hard to make connections with local schools on the Isle of Wight. Earlier this year, Urban Saints Westbrook hosted one of the local primary schools for a residential trip. At the end of the visit, one of the teachers shared this very positive feedback:
"The Centre at Urban Saints Westbrook is superb. Having had many residential trips away on and off Island, the Centre at Urban Saints is certainly the best I've ever experienced. Its spacious, clean, tidy and has everything and anything needed for successful residential trips. The sleeping arrangements were perfect. It was wonderful to have communal areas for the children to spend time together. The building is very impressive - full of historic features, warm and inviting.
The staff are friendly, patient, approachable and amazing with the children. They helped settle our more sensitive pupils and had very clear expectations of behaviour and outcomes. They helped us to settle us all into our trip and gave us the freedom to explore the grounds and buildings.
The activities were pitched perfectly for our children. They were engaging and accessible for all. The ecology walk, bushcraft and campfire were highlights for us and lead by a very knowledgeable leader. In fact, it wasn't just the children that left feeling like they had learned something new.
Breakfast, lunch and dinners were amazing. The best food we've ever had on a residential. The children loved having the responsibility of serving the food, and were even excited to be helping with the clearing and cleaning up afterwards. Coffee and tea, being the staple part of any teacher's diet were readily available throughout the day and evening. Individual dietary needs were well accommodated and the children all commented on how much they enjoyed the food.
As a teacher of 16 years, I've had my fair share of trips away with numerous children of all ages and i can safely say this has been the best residential i have ever been on. I never relax full on any trip away with pupils, but this time was the closest I've ever been to it. Thank you so much to the whole team at Urban Saints Westbrook."
Weekly dose of Westbrook
It's not just residential opportunities that are available for local schools (not to mention those visiting from the mainland). Another primary school has been benefitting from a regular weekly visits to the Centre at Urban Saints Westbrook. Each week for the last six months, children with additional needs have been working through a varied and extensive programme, including bushcraft, survival skills, horticulture and natural crafts.
“Our children have really enjoyed working with the Urban Saints Westbrook Centre team, and have learnt a lot of new skills, whilst having fun at the same time. We look forward to developing the sessions further in the future, to include tree climbing as well as other fun activities.” said the local school's additional needs coordinator.
Stories - Westbrook Centre - PW
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The Urban Saints Westbrook team can also provide activity sessions for day visitors - perfect for birthday parties, team building exercises and away days. Activities available include tree climbing, laser tag, archery, bushcraft, use of the covered heated pool and loads more.
During the summer holidays, Urban Saints Westbrook are hosting two weeks of Holiday Clubs to provide everyday adventures for local children. If you are interested in finding out more about the Holiday Club, you can visit the Urban Saints Westbrook website:
Holiday Club @ Urban Saints Westbrook
You can also experience a residential experience at Urban Saints Westbrook for yourself, wherever you and your group are based. The Westbrook Adventure and Challenge Camps return to the Centre in August and bookings are being taken for Autumn 2019 and into 2020 too. Find out more about the full range of adventure and retreat opportunities, by visiting the Urban Saints Westbrook website:
Website - Urban Saints Westbrook
