LAST Tuesday (2nd July), 80 Year 9 students and 20 members of staff from Caldicot School abseilled down the sides of their four storey building over a period of five hours.

For many it was the first time abseiling in a bid to raise money for a number of charities and learn some new skills.

The abseiling was just one activity for the fundraising and activity week, currently in its third year.

The week is a Caldicot School initiative aimed at enriching students' practical skills outside of the classroom.

It involved a variety of agencies who came to the school to give workshops on issues that are relevant to the students.

This included Gwent Police, who gave a talk on substance abuse, and the school health nurses who talked about sexual health and healthy relationships.

The school also linked in with Transport Wales, who brought several buses to the school grounds to give a workshop on bus safety, involving the students role playing a bus emergency situation.

Monmouthshire Youth Service worker Dan Davies praised the week's activities.

"It's always nice to do something different and learn some real skills," he said.

"It's about learning in a different way. We collapse the students' timetable completely and replace with enriching skills."