Test 1 – Reading & Writing

Opening times – Water sports: 10 am – 6 pm; Play Park: 10 am – 5.30 pm

Entrance / Car park fees – Low season: Weekdays £2.00 per car, Weekends £3.00 per car. High season (23 July – 11 September): Weekdays and weekends £3.00 per car. Fees are for car with four people. Each extra person is 50p. Fees to be paid at main office.

The centre is not a private club; it is an organisation whose aim is to provide outdoor sport and recreation facilities for all members of the public. Group visitors are requested to inform the centre in advance of their intended visit.

Windsurfing – One-day course. Beginner windsurfing courses are offered on Saturdays and Sundays when the weather is good enough. Learning to windsurf is a lot of fun. The excitement when you sail across the water for the first time is not easily forgotten. Boards with small sails are available for beginners. Course fee: £32.50 (this includes all equipment)

One-day adventure course. This is an opportunity you have been waiting for. Come and try sailing, climbing, surfing and archery. This course is intended to introduce outdoor activities to adults in a fun, leisurely manner. You do not need to be extremely fit or to have had previous experience of the activities. All you need is to be interested. Course fee: £22.50

Play Park. The Play Park is suitable for children from two to ten years of age. It is one of the best of its type in the country. It has sand and water play, slides, large ball pool, play castle and much, much more. Next year the centre will open a new Play Palace and Play Ship.

Group day and residential courses. We also offer day and long weekend courses for groups. We receive regular visits from schools, colleges and youth groups. There are three large rooms with twelve beds in each, which can be booked in advance for groups of up to 36 people (minimum 12).

Summer adventure holidays (for 8–14 years of age): Sailing, Climbing, Windsurfing, Fun Games. Safety is of primary importance at the Outdoor Centre. All staff are fully trained in First Aid, and qualified to teach the activities on offer. We also make certain that all children only take part in activities that are suitable for their age and physical abilities. For this programme children must be able to swim 25 metres and be in good physical health.

‘The best age to start learning the violin is between three and six,’ says Margaret Porter, a violinist and music teacher. ‘It’s the time when you are learning about the world.’ Margaret, who lives in London, prefers to take pupils at three and four, although she has made lots of exceptions for keen five-year-olds. When she started teaching the violin in 1972, her first class consisted of her children’s five-year-old school friends.

Margaret’s pupils have group lessons. Each group has about a dozen pupils and each lesson lasts an hour, once a fortnight. In addition, each pupil has one individual lesson a week with her. Parents also have to attend the classes. It is important that the parents take an active interest in the lessons.

From the earliest lessons pupils learn to play by ear. They do not even try to read music until they have been playing for several years, and for a long time there is a big difference between their playing and reading of music. Margaret says that her method is not supposed to produce great violinists, and always suggests that pupils who perform particularly well should leave and study the violin using more traditional methods.