Music Trip to Lodge Hill, March 24

On the 6th of March, the TWGSB Music Department took 40 Year 7-9 students on a residential trip to Lodge Hill in Pulborough, a 32-acre woodland site offering accommodation, weddings, as well as a variety of indoor and outdoor activities for schools and youth groups. This trip aimed to provide our younger pupils with the opportunity for an immersive 3-day rehearsal experience. 

Upon our arrival at the site, we quickly unpacked the coach and went on a treasure hunt in the woods- the winners got a bag of sweets! We returned after our hunt, ate our packed lunches, and engaged in a quick icebreaker game to get acquainted with everyone. We then had our first orchestra rehearsal of the trip, playing “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John. We all had our fair share of difficulties at first, but we swiftly sorted things out and the orchestra launched into action. Following a brief snack break, we regrouped into our treasure hunt teams and worked hard on producing background music for the Marvel Endgame background music- this presented us with a wonderful opportunity to use our imagination and explore our musical boundaries while collaborating as a team. After more orchestra rehearsals and a mini music quiz, we were allocated to our rooms and given time to unpack our belongings, and at 6 in the evening, we were rewarded with a delicious meal of sausages and chips. During our meal, we participated in an intense singing contest between four groups. Group four unsurprisingly chose to sing “Never gonna give you up” by Rick Astley and earned a well-deserved W. After dinner, half of the group settled in the library, either playing video games, board games, or engaging with intellectual (not) conversations with new friends; the other half spent some time in the game room, equipped with a pool table, a ping pong table, and two foosball tables for the boys to have fun with. Our last activity was watching Top Gun: Maverick in the music hall. It is such a masterpiece and a thrilling experience for everyone. We concluded our evening in the library with a cup of velvety smooth hot chocolate and headed back to our rooms for a good night’s sleep.

We woke up the next day nice and early at seven thirty in the morning and had cereal and toast for breakfast. We were then given some time for football and walks around the centre, followed by the continuation of our Marvel project that we had started the previous day. We then had yoghurt and tomato soup with ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch- it was absolutely scrumptious, especially the müller strawberry yoghurt. Finally, the time came for orchestra sections, during which we refined our playing with the help of our section leaders. After chicken and chips and another session in the library or the game room, we watched the film “Red Notice '' in the music hall- as big fans of action-comedy, we all loved the film. 

On the third and last day, we had more orchestra rehearsals and finally recorded our final product of “I’m Still Standing”. We also had the opportunity to perform our compositions for the Endgame scene. Everyone showcased their creative abilities on their respective instruments and we all had so much fun. Unfortunately, that was our final performance at Lodge Hill, and it was time to go back to school.

This trip to Lodge Hill was a privilege to be part of. We were surrounded by the most welcoming people and had such a blast getting to know one another and sharing music with everyone. 

A big thank you to Mr Joris and Mr Brush for organising this trip- it would not have been possible without you!

Karson L, (Yr 9)

Another write-up from Mauri S in Yr 7 shares with us his take on the trip: 

On 6 March, the Music Department took forty Year 7-9 students to Lodge Hill in Pulborough, West Sussex, to play music. Participants are selected using a ballot system, only the lucky ones get in.

Once we arrived, we got ready to play a game of treasure hunt, we had to get all the letters and sort them to find a phrase. After that, we collected all of our instruments and stands ready to play in a group ensemble until the afternoon.  The sessions after lunch included a team-building game and then we played I’m still standing by Elton John.

We also enjoyed a walk in the forest, and had brownies and then we got to watch Top Gun Maverick on the big screen before bed.

On the second day, in our 4 groups we had to sing a song collectively at breakfast which was fun. After that, we joined together for another group jamming session and played Billie Jean by Michal Jackson.  Mr Joris and Mr Brush announced a competition between the 4 groups of us where students had to reproduce the Avenger Endgame end battle theme tune.

After then we had our lunch which was Tomato and Basil soup with crips, sandwiches and veg; we played some more Bille Jean and then we had relaxation time where we just lay down on the floor just relaxing. Then we had a brief walk on the footpath of the forest, after which we practiced our Avengers Endgame theme which we would be showing the rest of the groups.

After dinner we watched a movie; it was Red Notice which was amazing and we all trudged back to our rooms in sadness as this was our last sleep in our room. The only thing that cheered us up was when Mr Joris said we will have breakfast later so we can sleep for some more time.

On the final day, we woke up remembering that this was our last few hours of 2024 Lodge Hill trip. 30 mins later we went to breakfast where we were able to eat a variety or cereals and toast. Our first thing on the agenda that day was to play music, so each of our groups played our Avengers Endgame theme. Then we played Trendsetter a rap song by Connor price and Haviah Mighty.

Then we went on a brief walk and afterwards we played all of our pieces that we had played during the whole trip. After we had lunch, we went into the forest to play some football as inside the forest there was concrete ground with goals and basketball hoops!

When we weren’t making music, we were in the forest, in the hall, in the library, the games room or watching a movie – it was an awesome trip!

At 13:50 we said our good byes to Lodge hill and the bus left to take us back to our respective campuses.