It was a lovely hot day when the children and staff left the school to begin their exciting leavers event before the next part of their educational journey following the summer break.
Everyone was very excited as we set off up the hill on the way to Matlock and the Deception Escape Rooms ready to investigate the disappearance of the ‘Jilted Bride!’ Wow what an amazing experience that was as we all busily attempted to try to help solve all the puzzles and clues, which took us just a little more than 60 minutes to work out what had happened to the bride and gain our release. Not bad for our first attempt we thought, who knew math would be integral to our escape from Purgatory!
Our next stop was much more chilled out and relaxing as we made our way in to Matlock Town Centre for lunch. The children had decided on a lovely little café named, ‘Mad Hatters’. Surprisingly, or not for those of us who have enjoyed and are a fan of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ stories we found ourselves in familiar territory where we could order a much-deserved lunchtime treat. There then followed lots of discussion and debate around our eventual escape and which escape room we would choose next time.
The conversation then changed to the next part of our day which was all about being pampered and spoilt! We climbed into the car after purchasing chocolates and a variety of treats, then off we sped (within the speed limit), giggling and chatting to a lovely beauty salon located high up the hills in Wirksworth, named Laura-Beth Hair and Beauty.
Once we had parked, we were greeted by the owner Beth, who was waiting for us with the downloaded emails of how each child had wanted their hair and nails to look. Beth had taken great care to make sure she had the correct colours of nail varnish and hair products to achieve their wishes and they all quickly got down to the pampering part of the day. They all looked absolutely stunning and were delighted with how they each looked. A huge thanks must be given to Beth to allow them the run of the salon and for helping to make them feel so very special.
Into the car again, and our next destination on this whirlwind tour was Sheffield, where the children had chosen to see the latest Jurassic film aptly named Jurassic Kingdom Rebirth- in 4DX. We had enough time to grab a quick bite to eat from Pizza express before entering the World of the Dinosaurs. Finding our seats in the gloomy cinema we all donned on our 3D glasses and the sweets and drinks were carefully shared out in anticipation of what was to come!
Chaos on the big screen and we were all along for the ride, jostling and bumping in our seats, with water being sprayed on us, puffs of air being blown onto our necks and faces and sounds of screams mixed with laughter coming from the audience all around us. Needless to say, we all found it quite difficult eating and drinking and carefully returned our treats to the bag carefully stashed on the floor until there was a lull in the action where we as the audience were fully immersed in, literally! Everyone had the best time ever! Although there was a lot of checking hair and nails once we were in the car, on the journey back to Hartington!
However, three very happy children were safely escorted back home after having made some very precious and everlasting memories! They will be very much missed in September, but it has been a privilege to have been part of their lives and we wish them all much success and happiness in every aspects in their future.