The benefits of cumulative residential trips are among the most powerful ingredients in a prep school education. Away from the familiarity of desks and whiteboards, these experiences offer a different sort of learning - less linear, more holistic, and rather messily human. It is in the dynamic environment of group challenges, the classic Devon downpours (in this instance) and the camaraderie of any shared discomfort that boys discover something about themselves that no textbook could reveal. 

With so many minds having been so recently focused on exams throughout the prep school, it is worth us all remembering that there is something especially vital about learning that takes place in context: learning when the wind is blowing in your ears, when your boots are caked with bog mud, or when you are laughing around a fire with your peers. Educational researchers often speak of ‘liminal spaces’ - thresholds where change happens - and these trips create such spaces in abundance. Boys grow in independence, resilience, empathy. They encounter risk - calibrated and safe, but nonetheless real - and learn to navigate it not with bravado, but with judgment and cooperation. 

At Pilgrims’, we are fortunate to begin this journey early. Our Year 3 boys camp in the school grounds, a stone’s throw from the riverbank. One night under canvas, and the world shifts slightly: shadows become stories, birdcalls become questions, and torches become lifelines. From these small beginnings, a tradition unfolds - each year building in scope and ambition, culminating in the grand finale of Year 8’s week-long adventure at Kelly, complete with the legendary ‘bog run’. 

When watching our boys return from residential trips, I often think of the adage the education is not just about filling a mind but about building a soul. They come back a little muddier, certainly; but they also come back a little wiser, a little braver, and a little more themselves. 

It provides fitting contrast to the more cerebral strivings of late (with Year 5 being the next cohort to be out having fun, this time at Calshot Spit), the latest fruits of which are our Year 8 Common Entrance results which have just finished coming through. All the boys have passed with flying colours: testament to all their hard work. I’m delighted to say that Addison gained an ‘all rounder prize’ from Charterhouse for consistently strong marks across all the CE subjects, Charlie placed in the top 20 candidates for Harrow, gaining a ‘starred’ place, and Patrick achieved an award at Sherborne for his straight As. Well done, to all the boys! 

Time for everyone to enjoy a thoroughly well-deserved Exeat! 

Tim Butcher
Headmaster