Upper Sixth Retreat

Upper Sixth Retreat

Saskia and Lydia (both from 13WIN) report:

The Upper Sixth retreat on Friday 18 March 2016 was a huge success and was enjoyed by all. The theme of the rose and labyrinth provided the year group with lots to think about, especially as this was our last retreat at Farnborough Hill and many of the girls in the year are going off to begin new chapters in their life, be it at university, work or on a gap year.

The rose symbolised the start of a new beginning with the imagery of the rose petals gradually falling off and leaving for a new chapter of life. This symbolised a gradual change and that God’s timing was perfect for our lives – I think it’s fair to say we drew encouragement from knowing that our plan was laid out before us. We were able to have a creative session during the day in which we created clay roses. Each creation was unique and certainly said a lot about us as individuals (and artists!) Nevertheless, this really highlighted the fact that each of our paths are going to be different but perfectly designed for us and tailored to each of our strengths and characteristics.

The labyrinth depicted the idea of an individual plan for our lives. The retreat focussed on the fact that there is always only one way to travel to the centre of the labyrinth, showing us that, whatever route we take in the next few months and years, God still has our plan worked out for each and every one of us. Whether our path be focussed on university, on gap years, on exam results, or on just general happiness, we really came away from the retreat feeling like the plan we have is long-term and that trusting in His timing is essential.

A highlight of the retreat was the final ceremony of roses. Miss Farmer, Miss Sexton and Mrs Rix spoke over us with an affirmation about the future. Following this, we were each given a single rose as well as a beautifully made card, full of words of encouragement from our teaching staff. Each was individual and specific to the student and this was a real motivation for the next few months ahead, with exams and general busyness.

It was an enjoyable day with friends in our year group and some really nice teachers. Obvious thanks go to Miss Farmer for planning the retreat so well and to Miss Sexton and Mrs Rix for accompanying and making the day really memorable.