East Mersea certainly came around quickly. It feels like only yesterday that I was organising the initial assembly to garner interest in what is the best trip in the school calendar. On paper, taking 140 students and 15 staff on a residential is a daunting task. In reality, it was quite the opposite. The students represented themselves and the school amazingly. They got stuck into every activity and embraced the Mersea motto: “Life is not a spectator sport”. From scaling the climbing walls and descending the zipwires, to performing in Mersea’s Got Talent, and wearing a hard hat for 24 hours as a forfeit, staff and students alike made memories that will last a lifetime. If you ever want your young person to be ready for a certain time, try playing the Final Countdown by Europe… they’re well-conditioned to be where they need to be by the end of the song! We went through several hundred litres of water, about 20 bottles of suncream, a few bottles of after sun, and that was just the staff! Mersea 2027 is already booked in, but it will take a lot to top the experience of Mersea 2026.