Bouldering is a form of free climbing without the use of ropes or harnesses.  We were taught different skills enabling us to climb the artificial rock wall.

We played ‘Sharks and Fishes’ as a warm-up activity, we had to listen carefully when we heard ‘Shark’ we had to climb onto the wall to avoid being caught by the shark!

Our instructor then taught us a variety of different skills enabling us to climb onto the wall.  We learnt how to traverse across the wall, where we had to jump to switch our feet and how to hang low onto the wall in a low position, this meant we wouldn’t get as tired, and we used less muscles in our arms compared to stretching up the wall.

The game ‘Simon Says’ was an excellent way to use our taught skills though we needed to listen carefully to the instructions, which were challenging at times!  The instructions included moving a specific foot or hand to a designated colour, though with help from our teammates, we were able to do it.

We all had a great time bouldering and lots of us would love to do this again, after all we are now ‘Expert Rock Climbers’.

Before we left for the activities, we were given a pep talk by one of the instructors.  He reminded us to challenge ourselves and try to push outside of our boundaries.  We were aiming to move out of comfort zone and see what we were capable of doing.  An important part of the day was working with others and how encouragement would give us the strength to challenge ourselves!  The chants from our teammates below definitely help us up the wall and for some to ‘Beat the wall!’

The rock climbing wall was awesome!  We felt as though we were on ‘Ninja Warriors’!  This was definitely a challenge, however this is where we found out when working in a TEAM -  ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’.  We scaled the wall with the help of our fellow teammates who controlled the rope and pulled it through the pulley as we soared to new heights!  For some of the more adventurous, adrenaline filled Year 7 pupils, they made it to the top and the bell could be heard ringing around the ground below.  What an achievement!  However, it didn’t stop there, for all climbers on their decent, they had to skilfully try to unhook a body part from the rope in the middle, perseverance and persistence enabled lots of the class to get a body part.  When the class finished all three activities, we worked together using our thinking hats to assemble the skeleton! 

Leap of Faith Tower - Do you have what it takes?

After the ascent up the wooden staircase inside the tower, we eventually reached the top.  On arrival we had a birds’ eye view of Belfast, it was absolutely amazing!  Some really important advice from our instructor was not to look down, what did most people do?  Look down! Out of the three morning activities, this was unquestionably  the most challenging as it pushed us to the limit and out of our comfort zone.   However, the one thing which made the difference was hearing teammates cheering us on and shouting words of encouragement such as ‘You can do!’

After having different workshops with Corman Veeney and completing the Thinking Matters ‘Adventure in Metacognition’, this was the opportunity to put all the advice to the test!  Both Mrs McDade and Mrs Smyth were absolutely amazed with our class and how many of us overcome our fear, they told us afterwards that they couldn’t do it!  Such scaredy cats!

Why did we jump? 

When we had been given directions by our instructor, we were encouraged by the support from below and the instructor.  Many of us took the leap of faith and walk off the edge of the plank, it was a totally awesome experience.  We would definitely recommend everyone to have a go!  Do you have what it takes? 

Cumran Cool Cavers
Suited and booted, ready to go!

What goes up must come down!

After climbing to the top, it was time to make our descent like 007 into the cave.  When we were sitting at the top ready to go down, it was nerve-racking for some, but with lots of support from our teammates both outside and inside the cave, we edged over and began our decent.  It was an awesome experience!  (For dramatic purposes, the videos have been speeded up!) 

Which 'Cool Cumran Cavers' can you spot?

We all had an awesome day at Belfast Activity Centre.  Many of us had to face fears and challenge ourselves!  It was great how we encouraged our friends to complete the activities, together as a TEAM we definitely did achieve more!  As we moved around the activities, it was evident how we were showing our resilience, we were brave and up for the challenge.  These are skills which we can transfer into any place and any situation in life. Thank you Belfast Activity Centre, we now have greater self-belief and when faced with a challenge, we will say, “We can do it!”