As we arrived on the doorstep of Eaton Grove on the Friday afternoon, little did we know how much fun we were about to have. Laden with huge suitcases and sleeping bags, our eyes full of apprehension we gathered together eager for our adventures to come. We collected our music stands and drum kit before piling onto the coach with our luggage: the adventure began…

The bus was buzzing with chatter as we passed beautiful Suffolk scenery. Gasps spread across the coach as we passed the sea, one step closer to our destination. Minutes later the coach pulled into the huge drive of Bawdsey and a sense of excitement began to rise from deep within us. The building looked like a castle with nooks and crannies yet to be explored. We were instantly drawn to gothic turrets where we would be resting our weary heads over the next few days. Greeted by Amber’s (PGL Rep) friendly face we headed down to dinner ready to pile our plates high with food.

After settling into our dorms and making ourselves at home we headed down to the campfire ready to enjoy an evening of songs and dances with Amber and Jordan. We learnt songs such as “Peel Banna”, “Pirate Song” and “Ham and Eggs” and learnt that we must NEVER STAND IN FRONT OF OUR BENCHES! This was followed by a cosy night sleep which left us ready and raring to go for the day ahead.

So far PGL was living up to the hype.

We woke bright and early, ready for breakfast and the day ahead. Minutes later we were feasting on a full English breakfast and a large array of breakfast cereals which left us ready for music preparations yet to come. We were led to the badminton halls, which would be where our rehearsals would be taking place, by the one and only, Amber. Next we dived into a selection of Christmas repertoire carefully selected by our dedicated music team. There was a huge selection of music from traditional plane songs like ‘Hodie Christus natus est’ to the hearty Christmas tune of ‘We Saw Three Ships’ arranged by Mr Wistow. Rapper SJ ( aka Mrs Stephen ) landed her first debut single on “Innit” which was an instant hit with all the students. Throughout the choir rehearsals we had regular breaks to bond and learn new handshakes and stock up on sugar.

After a hearty sing song we headed over to lunch, which was followed by an afternoon of activity. Our afternoon started with a leisurely stroll around the grounds of PGL and we passed a fig tree where we had a munch on the delicious fruit and admired the sea view. We then headed to our first activity: buggy building. This included using scrap material such as barrels and wooden poles to construct a buggy that we could ride around the field. We worked as a team to tie secure knots to keep the car together and tied other pieces of rope onto the buggy as handles so that we didn’t fall off. When we had finished building we gave Mr Wistow a ride on our chariot Porsha, the Porsche. We had a few malfunctions along the way but we’re sure Mr Wistow enjoyed the ride, even if he almost fell off a few times.

After a quick drinks break we proceeded on and had a game of stuck in the mud with the man, the myth, the legend, Matt, before heading off to the challenge course with our new instructor, Sonic. We had a quick introduction about how to use each of the obstacles and then the games began. We started with races before playing a trivia game where we answered questions before moving onto the next obstacle. The afternoon concluded with Mr Wistow and Miss Tye-Leech having a one vs one race in which Mr Wistow came out victorious.

We walked to dinner where we enjoyed southern fried chicken and unlimited pickles from the salad bar, and Alex discovered a new favourite: cucumbers with sugar drizzled on top. Then we returned to our dorms to relax and prepare for a night of games and fun.

We headed to the tennis courts with Amber where we played a game of ultimate relay in teams across all year groups, which concluded with a giant game of dodgeball where Mr ‘Music’ Hall was able to reveal his true talent. We then concluded our last game of dodgeball while listening (and singing) to the soundtrack of Mamma Mia.

After a night of activities we headed to bed for a much needed rest.

As the sun rose, we woke to another hearty breakfast. Everyone was in bright spirits apart from Mr Wistow, who was a bit stiff after the games of dodgeball. We then eased ourselves into some gentle singing before giving a short recital which was much loved amongst the amazing PGL staff. At the end of the rehearsals we tucked into a nourishing roast dinner before reluctantly waving goodbye to PGL and heading home.

In our opinion this was one of the best trips we’d ever been on. Not only did we get to practise our singing but we made memories like no other, with teachers and students alike. We look forward to going on similar trips in the near future. This trip shows what Norwich High School for Girls is really all about.