For some it was the first time away from home, so there were a few nerves as we set off, but they disappeared almost immediately as we sang our way to Devon. The excitement of not knowing who we would share our dorm with was palpable!

We spent the first day exploring Beer village and the beach, then headed to the youth hostel, which was a converted house with a huge garden, and finally we found our dorms and settled in. Oh, the squealing!

Supper was great and after sending a video message to our parents we went to bed.

Morning came (too quickly if you ask the teachers!) and then we refuelled with an enormous cooked breakfast. We caught the coach to Lyme Regis and spent a fascinating day with a fossil expert who taught us what to search for, and then took us along the beach where we found loads of different fossils.

The day was really fun and I didn’t realise I was learning until I got back home and realised what I knew! 

Tillie

I loved looking for fool’s gold in the clay. 

Florence

It was really exciting! I found my first fossil and got to explore where fossils might be  

Rishita

The following two days were spent hiking the coastal path – one day to Seaton, where we had a picnic, ate ice-cream and caught a Victorian tram up though the estuary and wetlands, and the other day to Branscombe where we picnicked, played, made sandcastles and paddled in the sun.

We climbed some steep hills and walked about 17 miles over those two days!

Friday came too soon, and we packed up and set off home.  We were excited to see our families again and tell them all about our holiday – we made such wonderful memories and feel proud of the independence we showed. Our teachers are very proud of us too and received many comments about how wonderful we were! 

Well done year 5.