The 2006 OAA Festival was hosted by Bedgebury Pinetum on Thursday October 12. This was the first time that the event had been held at Bedgebury and as the photos show, the surroundings there were perfect for the activities on offer.

Schools were asked to enter teams of 8 students comprising 2 pupils from each year group between Year 3 and Year 6. In total, 11 teams from 10 different schools entered; High Halden, Woodchurch, Colliers Green, Benenden, Goudhurst, Staplehurst, Wittersham, Lamberhurst, John Mayne and Headcorn.

All teams took part in three different activities;

1. Orienteering – Organised and led by Jerry Purkis from Saxons Orienteering Club.
   
   
2. Nordic Walking – Organised and run by David Hiscock and Cath Armstrong from Bedgebury.
   
   
3. Team Challenges - ‘Unexploded Bombs Move’, ‘River Crossing’, ‘Electric Fence’ and ‘Matrix’ were the activities on offer here! This was organised and led by Hannah Frarey and Vicki Benbow.

Teams were awarded points according to how fast they completed the challenges and how well they worked together as a team.

Results – Top Five Highest Scoring Teams

	Position	School	Points
	1st	Wittersham	36
	2nd	Staplehurst	34
	3rd	John Mayne	33.5
	4th	Benenden	33
	5th	Woodchurch 1	32.5

A huge thank you to the following:

• David Hiscock and Cath Armstrong from the Forestry Commission for enabling us to use Bedgebury and for their help in organising the day
• Jerry Purkis for his time and effort in organising the orienteering event so well
• Saxons Orienteering Club Members for their support
• Hannah Frarey and Vicki Benbow for their planning and management of the Team Challenges

Additional Images
Click any image for an enlarged version