A group of Year 6 students enjoyed the trip of a lifetime, much to the delight of the whole school.
Thirteen children from St Mary’s & All Saints C, E Primary School, were taken to Finland by headteacher Matt Parting for a week of outdoor activities.
They spent five days at the Adventure Apes Center in Kuusamo, in the north of the country, where they enjoyed sledding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice skating, saunas and ice fishing.
“This trip was really a celebration of the direction the school is going in right now,” Parting said.
“After 10 years of difficult circumstances, there are great signs that we have turned a corner and the whole school now has high hopes for what we can achieve.
“It was basically impossible for us to go to Finland, so we did it to show that we can do more than what is expected of us.
“We couldn’t or shouldn’t have achieved that.”
This event was made possible with the support of Finland’s Adventure Apes Center and Reading Boys’ School, which partners with St Mary’s and All Saints on the Fullness of Life curriculum.
The grammar school supports young people with weekly canoeing sessions and welcomes children in Year 6 on their elective education.
“They can learn anything from philosophy to mechanics to cooking,” Parting said.
“Our Fullness of Life curriculum is about broadening horizons and this trip gave the children something really big to aim for.
“There is a huge lack of cultural capital for our children after the pandemic.”
Schools use this term to describe the values, knowledge, skills, and ideas that children enter the school with.
“At my last school, the kids had a huge amount of cultural capital,” Parting explained.
“They had books at home and had already gone on vacation to Italy and France.
“Our young people at St Mary’s have never really been exposed to cultural capital. We can’t assume they know anything or have been anywhere.
The Adventure Apes Center hosted the group at cost, and Reading Boys School covered the travel costs.
“They were both so generous that all we had to pay was the airfare,” Parting said.
“This type of travel is economically unaffordable for our community, which is what makes it so special.
“And the impact on schools has been pretty amazing.
“Not only the 13 children, but everyone involved at the school felt very strongly about going to Finland.
“And our young students are already looking forward to when it will be their turn.”
For this traveler, his adventure in Finland was life-changing.
When asked how it had changed for them, young people said they were more willing to try new things, more confident and ready for adventure.
“It was great to see the kids get away from their normal surroundings and enjoy everything new,” Parting said.
“When I was ice fishing, I saw their faces painted on the frozen lake.
“It felt very, very special. In fact, I felt like this was what my life was all about.”
The school’s motto, which Parting brought with him when he became principal two years ago, is a Bible verse.
“It’s ‘Jesus said, ‘I have come that you might make the most of life’ – John 10:10, and it’s not just written on a school wall, it’s actually happening. ,” Parting said.
When he arrived, he says he chose just three rules. It is currently being practiced at this school. It means being kind, being curious, and being prepared.
Kindness is now on display throughout the school community.
“Our school was in special measures, but things are changing and this trip is just part of our efforts to turn around the school culture,” he said.
“Finland celebrated the fact that we have become an aspirational school.
“It was great to be back with the parents who brought balloons, flowers and banners to welcome the children home.
“I was overwhelmed by their gratitude and gratitude and the sense that something special had happened to them.
“We would like to thank Heidi Savolainen from Adventure Apes Center and Reading Boys School for making this once-in-a-lifetime trip possible.
“We’re already planning a return visit and I think we’ve already secured funding for next year, so we’re really looking forward to it.
We hope to find sponsors for future visits.
Something that local businesses and fundraising groups might be able to help us make into an annual event.
For more information and sponsorship offers, please visit stmaryandallsaints.co.uk.
For more information about this year’s sponsors, search Adventure Apes Finland on Facebook. Or visit www.reading-school.co.uk.