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School Expedition Blogs

A reflection on Inverness Royal Academy School Expedition by Katie Rhynas

After a last-minute panic about how I was going to get my bagpipes on the plane and a few anxious moments, I was ready for the trip of a lifetime.  Twenty-eight of us set off from Inverness Royal Academy at 11 pm on the start of our Tanzania adventure.   Getting some sleep on the coach to Edinburgh Airport might have been a good idea but nerves, excitement and Jack’s playlist put an end to that.  The first flight to Amsterdam took us closer to the big plane ride to Kilimanjaro airport.  Nine and a half hours gave us time to…

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Inverness Royal Academy Team Blog: Tanzania, March 2018

Moshi moshi from Moshi. I know that's Japanese rather than Swahili but I can't overlook a bit of wordplay. For those who do know a bit of Swahili, Jambo from Moshi. It's Sunday night as I write this...apologies for the delay. I had written a verbose piece with lots of wordplay but you've all been spared that because I had to get a local SIM to upload this and I lost all of my musings. I'm writing this on my phone so please excuse any typos and forgive me for phonetic interpretations of Swahili. To all the parents at home…

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Oakwood Park Grammar School - Blog 4

Friday 21st Friday was our last full day of work at New Hope Children's Centre. After an early start, we worked throughout the day, continuing the projects we had been working on previously and ensuring they were ready for the finishing touches on Saturday. We rewarded ourself for our efforts with a delicious dinner of chicken and chips which went down well with the team!  Saturday 22nd We spent the morning completing the second coats of paint, adding the finishing touches and laying astroturf in the picnic area. We clean tidied up and surveyed our work, before climbing on a bus with all the children from the…

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Oakwood Park Grammar School - Blog 3

Wednesday 19th: After a filling breakfast of eggs and bacon, we had an early start working on our projects. The nursery painting was pushed forward as the colours on the walls were given their next coat of paint and the mountain mural was given its finishing touches. The team in the new offices continued to prep the walls for primer and painting and spent a long time ensuring that the rooms were clean and dust free, ready for the next step. In the playground, the new picnic area the group had shovelled sand from the day before was flattened by both…

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Oakwood Park Grammar School - Blog 2

Monday After a beautifully picturesque flight from Lima to Arequipa, over snow-capped mountain peaks and deep valleys, we were met by the team from New Hope Children's Centre, and made our way to our home for the next 7 days. The team enjoyed a fantastic lunch at New Hope, before being given a tour of the centre and finding out more about the work we will be doing here. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing football, volleyball and table tennis with some of the kids, before a dinner of Peruvian hotdogs. Just before bed we experienced an earth tremor! This…

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Oakwood Park Grammar School - Blog 1

It has been a very busy first couple of days for Oakwood Park Grammar School's Vine Trust Expedition to Peru. The expedition team arrived in Lima on Friday night after a long day of travelling. On Saturday morning, after a big breakfast which included sampling some new fruits and cheeses, we walked down to the edge of the ocean in the Miraflores area for a spectacular view across the South Pacific. As it is currently winter in Lima, the water is too rough for swimming, but many surfers can be seen from the early hours of the morning out on the waves. We then…

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