Orchard Rugby players

First day of school

The first day of school was a very nervous day for us all, I struggled to hide my intense excitment as I walked down the yellow brick road for the first time.

My nervousness was in vain and I needn't have worried at all because it was so easy making new friends and becoming part of the Shiplake community. Everybody was incredibly friendly and we had a great time.

By Charlie, Year 9

Island Adventure

On the 8th September, Orchard and Welsh House went on their Island Adventure. After we had collected wood for the fire, we packed our bags and got told what we had to do. We went over on a boat and after found somewhere to camp. We then grabbed our ponchos and made a roof out of them.

We made a barbeque nearby to cook our food on. It was really nice. Later we had to go and tidy up and then lie down and get ready for the night ahead. At about two o'clock in the morning it started to rain and unluckily our shelter broke and we started getting wet drip by drip! After two minutes we were drenched so we ran out and slept under a big tree which had just enough cover to keep us dry. Even though we got cold and wet we still had a great time and had a good chance to make lots of new friends.

Charlie Sichel
Year 9