Our boarders recently enjoyed the wonderful surroundings our school has to offer with a den building competition in the woods followed by well deserved caramel chocolate bananas and s'mores made on a camp fire. 

The den building competition included points for:

structural soundness

an original den name

which materials were used

how much shelter it provided (taking into consideration how camouflaged it could be) 

The children set to and some brilliant dens were made. The winning den included plenty of ferns for camouflage and shelter, it was well concealed and even used ivy roots as rope for securing bits of wood and branches. 

The caramel chocolate bananas were a huge hit, some of the children asking for more! We laughed about how long (or not!) some impatient people had to wait for them and in the end patience was the key - the mushier the better apparently! Marshmallows were toasted and made into S'mores and as we licked our lips and watched the sticks burn down on the fire a natural discussion turned into some motivational insights from our Gaps students offering advice for those leaving Mowden at the end of this academic year.