News
General Studies
Posted: 3rd July 2018
Wychwood Sixth General Studies Week: an overview
General Studies is a week in which all of Study 1 take part in a variety of extra-curricular activities to broaden their experiences and to offer a respite half way through our A Level courses. There is not enough space to detail all the fun we had and the experiences we shared so I will try to give a good overview!
Inevitably if you want to encourage a group of young students to roll out of bed on a Monday morning and get active there is one trusty method that never fails: food! We clambered onto the bus and set for Daylesford farm, an organic farm in the heart of the Cotswolds, for a day of cooking. As someone that has had experience with goat farming (really!) it was fascinating to see the cow milking plant and the sheer scale of the machinery. Everyone’s favourite part of the farm tour was most definitely the strawberry field where copious amounts of the delicious fruit were consumed. Then came the cooking: this was the greatest test of them all! Now it wasn’t a competition to see who get make the best dish, but my group did a particularly splendid job. A three-course meal of summer salad, huevos rancheros and grilled peaches with cream proved to be an ideal lunch for a hot summer’s day.
On Tuesday morning after abandoning our kitchen duties at Daylesford, we set off for Hill End to try our hands at bush craft: the ultimate test for the city girls amongst us. We persevered building dens, campfires and orienteering. We also discovered that placing marshmallows on a pancake whilst still on the pan, before folding it skilfully into a wrap to conceal the gooey goodness, makes the ultimate pancake filling – an important life lesson was learnt!
The third day involved a trip to London, and we all knew what this would mean. It is one of those things that you can’t quite prepare yourself for. No matter how hard you try, you’ll always underestimate its power. Not even Olympic athlete training could prepare you for it … Ms Sherbrooke’s ‘London stride’. Despite having the choice of an escalator, we climbed the stairs out of the London underground, the equivalent of a 15-storey building. Was it an experience we would all like to repeat? No thank you! However, the Frida Kahlo exhibition was awe-inspiring. With over half the class studying her works for History of Art, it was a treat to be able to see the works up close as well as all of the corsets and dresses that she wore, many of which you could see in the paintings. The day concluded with the unforgettable and powerful performance of ‘Les Miserables’.
After all the excitement of the outings, day four was UCAS day which was invaluable in preparing us for the process we will be starting in September.
On Friday morning we continued with the serious stuff with First Aid training. The morning not only taught us vital skills, but gave me a greater appreciation of those who work for the ambulance services.
Following an afternoon of beauty and make-up tips, we had the chance to put what we had learnt into practice as we got ready for the annual Study ball where we ate fantastic food and danced the night away.
Heather Fitzgerald, Study 1