This morning Key Stage 1 had the privilege of listening to
Rupert Cutler from the RNLI in Harwich .
This launched our next topic which is “Land Ahoy!”
Rupert began by telling us a brief history of how the RNLI
was formed and told us about Grace Darling.
He shared pictures of how the lifeboats have been adapted and changed throughout the years and that in in 2024 the RNLI will be 200 years old! He showed images of the outfits that some of
the rescuers used to wear nearly 200 years ago – we agreed they looked very big
and cumbersome!!
Many children were amazed watching the videos of animals being
rescued – including horses, dogs, bulls, sheep, seals and porpoises. He also spoke about the importance of lighthouses and their
role.
Rupert shared the meanings of the flags – red for danger ie no
swimming. The yellow and red flag is for
children to swim between and the black and white flag was for surfers or
jet-skiers to allow them in the water but away from the swimmers.
The important message of staying safe in the water was:- 1)
stay together – do not go in the water alone; 2) If you do get in trouble –
float on your back and 3) Ask an adult to call 999 or 112 for help
At the end, there was a range of questions:-
Daisy – “Are there engines on the boats?” – yes not many
rowing now mainly engines, outboard motors or diesel engines.
Finley –“How many people are saved a year?” – 300 – 400 per
year but many more are helped throughout the year
Lexi - “Do the
lifeboat people wear life jackets?” – yes, need to keep themselves safe
Finnley – “Do the lifeboats have submarines or is it just
boats?” – No – just boats.
Lenny – “How many people man the crews?” – in Harwich there
are 30 crew available but 6-8 go out on the boats.
Reuben – “What happens when the lifeboat tips over?” – it can
correct itself with balance, but it depends how quickly the boat tips.
It certainly inspired us as our “wow” moment to launch our topic and we hope to find out
lots of new and exciting things this term relating to the RNLI session.
We collected £58 as donation from the children in Key Stage
1 as a small thank you for the amazing work they do.
