Raft-building, abseiling and hiking through Lake District fells were top of the curriculum for children at Settlebeck School.

As part of the Sedbergh secondary's annual bid to help the first years get to know one another and their teachers, 40 11-year olds enjoyed an exhausting four-day activity week at Derwentwater Youth Hostel.

"I felt a bit nervous going," said 11-year-old Sam Mitchell, of Sedbergh.

"But I knew it was going to be a good chance to meet some new people and have some new experiences.

I did get to make some new friends."

Despite increasingly-onerous health and safety regulations plus the possibility of crippling litigation should anything go wrong, head teacher Dave Smith is pledging to continue holding the activity weeks that have been a rite of passage for Settlebeck first years for two decades.

"During the week students will tackle something that is challenging for them.

There is an element of risk and fear and children have to overcome these - you are aiming to improve their self confidence."

Crucially the activity week is also designed to get the kids making solid friendships.

"It's about getting them together as a coherent entity that are supportive of each other and that is a pre condition for learning.

If you don't get those friendships formed you don't learn," said Mr Smith.

And back in the classroom after their week of night hikes, trekking, climbing, abseiling, raft building and Andy Goldsworthy-style environmental art projects, the children said they had enjoyed "a really good week".

"I think quite a lot of people should go on these trips because you get to know each other better and that's good," said Sam.