Three Colac Secondary College students had the experience of a lifetime at a Year 12 leadership camp.

Brittnee Colbourne, Madilyn Forster and Carla McKenzie went to the week-long Lady Somers camp on the Mornington Peninsula with 100 other female students from around the country.

Brittnee said her week of adventure was the best experience she had ever had.

“The things you get to experience tend to be very life changing and help make you more mentally and emotionally stronger,” she said.

Three male students from the college, David Vesey, Brandon Everett and Kye Doenson, went to a Lord Somers camp the week before, but gave their female counterparts little advice about what to expect.

“The main thing was to play the game. The boys came back and they told us that and to give everything a go,” Brittnee said.

“That’s all they said, just ‘play the game’ and they wouldn’t tell us anything just that it was the best week of their lives.

“Every day was unknown and that was part of the experience.”

Organisers of the camp placed the three girls in teams where everyone was a stranger.

The girls dressed in their team colours and ate, slept and participated in games only with their fellow team members.

“The first day was a bit ‘what have I got myself into,’ and I felt a little homesick,” Brittnee said.

“But by the second and third days it was a big adventure.”

Brittnee said she had gained confidence in herself after camp leaders pushed students to their limits through activities, like tug-of-war and cross country.

Madilyn said she made lifelong friends at the camp.

“Our group was really tight and by the end of the week I didn’t want to leave,” she said.

Madilyn said the experience had put her in a good place to tackle the pressures of her final year of secondary school.

“It’s just made me realise that you can do anything you set your mind to and everyone can help, work better in a team,” she said.