The boarding activities programme is packed full of innovative and fun things to do; not a weekend goes by where the boarders aren’t trying to master a new skill, challenge themselves physically and make lasting memories of boarding at Shiplake. Pupils have been to foot golf, go-karting, paintballing, and even had pool parties. The most recent events, organised by Mr Tiki Ebun-Cole, was a trip to Liquid Leisure and a visit from stand-up comedian Patrick Monahan. The sun shone on the trip to Liquid Leisure, the home of Europe’s largest outdoor water park. A large group of pupils from all different year groups enjoyed a variety of water-sports and activities, including paddle boarding and tackling an inflatable obstacle course in the centre of the lake!
Mr Ebun-Cole provides the following report from a very successful evening of comedy:
‘On Tuesday 27 September Irish-Iranian stand-up comedian, Patrick Monahan, travelled from London to perform in front of 80 boarders in the Lecture Theatre. Patrick is a widely known comedian, having won television shows Take the Mike and Show Me the Funny, as well as performing regularly at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. With his identity being kept secret, students apprehensively entered the Lecture Theatre, hoping they weren’t wasting their time. They were soon in fits of laughter when Patrick opened with some sharp and witty observations of some of the students! Joe Tucker, Casper Wise, Farhad Huseynli, Mufaro Gaza and Joachim Ridley-Barker were all good sports for providing Patrick with some comedy material. Patrick shared stories about his experiences moving to Teesside as a child, and trying to settle into a new country.
The evening went down very well, and the boarders had a fantastic time. A number of pupils gave feedback: Jamie Boardman commented that Patrick ‘is the funniest thing I have ever heard’, and Alex Bartlett and Kesha Sarkytbayev seconded that, adding that ‘this is definitely another activity for the future!’ Alex Sutton summed up the general feeling of the event, saying ‘I thought this might be rubbish, but it was a massive success. Thank you!’