On Monday 12th June, as the sun was shinign, the MIV waved St Mary’s goodbye and set off for a week of sun-soaked fun and adventure on the Isle of Wight.

Our first stop on the island was the Wild Heart Animal Sanctuary and the girls had a wonderful time visiting the animals that the sanctuary had rescued. We had a guided visit from one of the keepers who told us lots of interesting facts about the animals and some of the sad stories about their lives before the sanctuary. Frosty the lion was a real favourite and we loved learning about the lemurs.

After we checked into the hotel, there was time for a quick swim and an explore around Shanklin.

On Tuesday, we headed to Robin Hill and the girls thoroughly enjoyed exploring the tree top walks, going on the taboggan, and riding the pirate ship. In the evening, we went bowling in Ryde with many of the girls scoring highly, but they did need to have the bumpers up!

On Wednesday, we had a fun-filled day at Tapnell Farm, starting with the Aqua Park. The girls had the most brilliant time jumping off the inflatables and completing the course. The afternoon had a quieter feel, with a visit to the farm where the girls enjoyed go-karting and meeting all the little furry animals. Many of the girls were glad to get back to Shanklin to cool down in the sea as it was another hot day on the Isle. In the evening, we had several rounds of Laser Quest, and we organised the girls into East and West teams to battle it out against each other.

On Thursday, we visited Osbourne House – Queen Victoria’s summer residence. We took part in a Victorian workshop ‘The Queen is coming’ with the very strict Housekeeper Mrs Smith. Mrs Smith taught the girls how to polish, make beds with sheets and blankets, prepare newspaper twists for setting fires, set a table setting ensuring they measured the distances between all the crockery and cutlery as well as grinding coffee and sugar. Once the workshop was over, the girls had an opportunity to find out what life was like ‘below stairs’ for Victorian servants by asking lots of very good questions. We then walked down to the beach for lunch and had a little paddle before our formal visit to the house to see what life was like ‘above stairs’ for Queen Victoria and her family.

In the afternoon, we hit the beach in Sandown, where the girls had a surfing lesson and lots of fun larking about on giant body boards. On our last evening, we all dressed up and headed to mini golf, to finish the trip in true Isle of Wight style.

The girls were a pleasure to take on the trip and lots of wonderful memories were made!

Miss Louise Cavanagh
Housemistress