Last week students and staff set off for an adventure and visited the Royal International Air Tattoo. We all know that the British summer can be a bit hit or miss and we can expect the odd showers. The weather proved to not be on our side… However, a great day was had by all and memories were certainly made!
Students and staff set off early on Friday morning donning raincoats, waterproofs and bags full of delicious packed lunches provided by the catering team. On the coach journey spirits were high and students chatted about what planes they may see.
The RAF Team greeting guests on arrival was fantastic. They opened up a bag check area just for NCW and talked students through the safety checks.
Once inside the show, students were free to explore the areas they wanted to with their Guides. The noise from the planes flying was incredible and there was a definite excitement in the air!
Miss Rule happened to know one of the RAF Reserves that worked in the media centre. They kindly agreed to give us a tour of the C17 that carried the Queen’s coffin from Scotland back to England. The rain was pouring and the group took shelter under the wing of the plane. Little did they know they were about to see royalty!
It then became apparent that lots of photographers were waiting for a VIP guest. The C17 was closed awaiting the special guests. Staff and students started guessing who the VIP might be…Guesses included the King, Tom Cruise maybe a famous footballer or politician.
They all guessed incorrectly and Prince William, Kate and children all hopped out of a car and greeted RAF staff. Mrs Connor managed to get this great video of them going into the plane!
After the Royals left, students and staff explored the C17 and enjoyed a private tour. The plane was enormous far bigger than it looked on the outside. Students sat in the front cockpit and imagined flying such a big plane!
It’s no secret that NCW Student Len LOVES planes and has a huge knowledge base of all things aviation. Despite the rain, Len said he had ‘the best day ever’ and was super happy to have experienced it all. He even came away with some model planes that he bought and happily showed them to everyone on the coach home. Check out Len’s recording of a Fighting Falcon.
A huge thank you to everyone that made the trip possible, especially Mrs Blake that sourced the tickets. Despite the rain, everyone had fun, made memories and enjoyed getting dry at the end of the day!
