We asked two people who were part of the 2019 Monitor Training Course for their memories of the week. Matilda (bottom left, above) was one of the trainees on the course, while Will was one of the instructors. You can read Will’s point of view here, but here’s Matilda’s side of the story.

Saturday afternoon, I had no idea what to expect. A few months earlier I had never heard of ATE but now I am so excited to be a part of this group and cannot wait for my Superweek this summer.

I thought that the monitor course would be fun but primarily focused on lectures and theory. I was really surprised to find out that we actually got to play games and sing songs all week! We were put into four teams (Chris’ jungle friends, lactose intolerant fishermen, team lightning and abberneighs). I was in Chris’ Jungle friends and after a few days felt like we’d known each other for ever. Everyone was so friendly, and it was so easy to fit in and join in with everything even though I hadn’t come on a Superweek before.

Each day had a different focus, from learning about the role of a monitor to safeguarding and travel day. I particularly enjoyed learning about first aid from Cassie and practicing how we’d handle different situations. Every day was so packed with activities – lectures, outdoor games, singing, discussion sessions – with lots of biscuits in between! It was really nice to be able to forget about my phone and social media and spend time with the other monitors. I really enjoyed doing handicrafts (making salt dough ornaments) and thinking about what handicraft I’ll teach this summer. Another highlight was working in our teams and figuring out each of the codes in order to make a potion and catch the Easter bunny.

Overall, the course left us all really excited to be monitors this summer and hopefully for many more summers to come.

If Matilda’s memories leave you wanting more, you can find out more about our Monitor Training Course here. Staff, if you would like to help out on our next training course, you can register your interest by emailing Patrick.