walk along Worcester canal with Year 7A

The pupils enjoyed exploring the Worcester canal while they identified what surroundings they could see with one pupil saying "look there are two ducks". While we were walking a staff  member and pupil talked about how many boats they thought would be when we got to the harbour. The pupil said "I think between 50 and 60". As we walked past the harbour the pupils showed an interest in exploring the park while they each had a go on the swing equipment and the obstacle course. The pupils worked together as a team by one pupil offering their hand to help their peer achieve the goal of getting to the top of the small rock-climbing wall. 

Walking back to the minibus the pupils saw a boat coming towards the gate as they described the size of it "wow that is really big" and showed an interest in helping to open the gate to watch the boat sail through. The pupils took it in turns to ask questions of "why does the water go down when the boat comes through". The woman explained for the boat to sail along the water it has to be level but when the boat goes past the gate the water travels to the ground  to go back into the canal". They listened as the woman demonstrated to them as a group what direction to push the gates to open and then encouraged them to pull it shut. 

After the pupils had helped we asked if they enjoyed opening and closing the gate and watching as the boat floated to the ground and sailed away. The feedback was positive with one pupil saying "I liked watching how the boat sunk with the water because one minute it was the height of the gate and the next it wasn't".