On Thursday 18 September, Lower Sixth students participated in our highly anticipated Michaelmas term Challenge Day.
Challenge Days are a fun way of developing leadership skills, encouraging communication and good team work and building problem solving abilities. This particular afternoon was organised by a firm called ‘Treasure Hunt Oxford’, and involved a carefully designed route for us to follow through the streets of Oxford and via some of main sites of the city, such as the Bridge of Sighs and Radcliffe Camera so we could learn fun facts and stories along the way.
The excitement started that morning during form time when we had our first brain-stimulating question to determine which order the teams would set off on later and the enthusiasm only increased from there.
After a quick packed lunch, we hopped onto the coaches for a short journey into central Oxford to start the Challenge Day.
Once we arrived outside Oxford Castle, the starting order was revealed based on our answer from the morning’s challenge. Each team was called and given a QR code to launch our adventurous afternoon. Upon scanning the code, it opened an online chat which became our hub for the duration of the afternoon as it gave us clues, corrected our answers, and followed our progress. Using our phones gave us more independence and allowed us to go at our own (yet competitive!) pace around Oxford.
The chat directed us around the city, where we received a riddle to solve – normally consisting of spotting details often overlooked by visitors to Oxford such as statues, carvings and inscriptions on buildings. During the adventure, the chat wasn’t short of fun-facts about the sites we visited, giving us a deeper understanding of the city.
The afternoon allowed for friendly competition whilst strengthening our inter-form relationships, as we had to work collectively to find the clues around the city whilst racing against the other forms. Every incorrect answer deducted points, so accuracy was just as important as speed.
After completing all 11 questions that spanned across central Oxford, we celebrated by enjoying some well-deserved ice cream and a brief visit to the Westgate shopping centre, before getting back on the bus to return to school. Everyone returned to school with new friendships, happy memories and a fresh appreciation of Oxford.
