Last weekend, Miss Goddard and Mr Gray took eight aspiring student scuba divers to complete their qualifying open water dives and gain their PADI Open Water Diver certificates. This certification allows you to dive anywhere in the world and is ‘your passport to underwater adventure’.
The students were a mix of Fourth and Fifth Years who had spent at least a term practising confined water skills in the school swimming pool during Games lessons or during the popular co-curricular club after school.
Miss Goddard says, “The sun shined brightly for us the whole weekend, and although the visibility in the water was mixed, the trip was a great success, and all the boys completed their certification dives with flying colours. Congratulations to them all!”
Fourth Year Elliot Secord said, “The weekend was fun, and I really enjoyed it. For a lot of us it was the first-time diving in open water, and it was my first time in ages. I really loved seeing all the wrecks while diving, and it feels great to finally be SCUBA certified. Overall, I thought it was an amazing weekend.”
Fourth Year Daniil Balakhnin said, “I found the activity very exciting as I had only practiced in the swimming pool prior to this excursion. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out how to get my buoyancy controlled, since we didn’t get to dive too deep in the pool, but after that I didn’t have any issues with it. The weather was lovely, and I got to enjoy the sun in between dives, which I don’t get to do often due to British weather. The dives were amazing and very interesting, since we had a few encounters with some angry crayfish and got to explore a few (manmade) wreckages. The practical exercises went by very smoothly and without any incidence. The water was amazing, even though at times the visibility wasn’t the best, it was still interesting to dive in it, since the temperature could change very quickly once we dove under the surface. Overall, the experience was amazing, and the diving group was very positive, I am looking forward to diving again.”
Fifth Year Kristian Sarai said, “I would like to think that my first open water dive was a resounding success. Not only was I able to apply the skills that I had learnt in the swimming pool to a more realistic environment, but I was also able to reap the many benefits of open water for the first time. I now appreciate that SCUBA diving isn’t just about the skills you learn – it’s about the abundance of artifacts and wildlife found in water-based ecosystems around the world. On our final dive, we even managed to spot a wreck of an enormous, classic New York school bus!”
Fifth Year Caden Cheong said, “The weekend trip was an incredible experience for us all, especially since it was our first-time scuba-diving in open water. The atmosphere was very encouraging, with teachers and friends supporting us and keeping us safe. The highlight of our trip was undoubtedly the various wrecks of ships, planes, and other vehicles we could explore underwater. Overall, the experience was unforgettable, and I look forward to diving again soon!”
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