IT may be holiday time for schools, but the last few weeks have been full of action and enjoyment for the children at Mount House School in Tavistock. Since school broke up in July for the long summer break, there have been courses running in kayaking and climbing. They form part of the Shackleton Awards scheme, in which all pupils take part on one afternoon a week during term time. The scheme follows the themes of adventure, proficiency, safety and service, and covers a broad range of indoor and outdoor activities. This summer?s programmes were designed to extend the scope of the term-time Shackleton activities and have proved to be very popular . The kayaking courses, six of which have been scheduled during the holiday period, begin in the pool and the lake at Mount House, introducing skills and building confidence. They then move on to a local river or lake for extended exploration and the opportunity to achieve British Canoe Union Star Awards. The rock climbing programme has been successful despite the weather. In the most recent course, six Mount House pupils took advantage of a brief lull in the rain to go climbing at Dewerstone. The first day concentrated on rope skills and balance techniques, which were practised on increasingly difficult climbs. Day two started wet, so the group made the most of a new and exciting climbing wall at Milton Abbot. Later the group returned to Dewerstone for some abseiling and more rock climbing (pictured left).
