Our Outdoor Education program is a unique, beloved aspect of our curriculum. In 2024, to align with the School’s Towards 2030 strategic intentions, along with our values and priorities, the delivery of this program is being renewed.
“The approach we’re taking means we will be offering a carefully designed progression of experiences in the natural environment all the way from Prep to Year 12,” explains Nic Bishop, Director of Outdoor Education. “The new structure is student-focused and sequential, with purposeful ‘peaks’ built in, creating a journey that continues throughout each students’ time at the School.”
Designing a cohesive journey
Across the 11 years from Prep to Year 10, Outdoor Education experiences range from Prep students’ first Forest School at Camp Robert Knox through to the 20-day Beyond the Gates expedition that marks the midpoint of the journey through Senior School. In Years 9 – 12, students also have the opportunity to join the Leslie Gladstone Robertson (LGR) Society, which sees student groups leading their own bushwalking expeditions without direct staff supervision.
“The beauty of our Outdoor Education program is the way it contributes to the development of a student’s identity, understanding of self, and connection to others—particularly in times of challenge or adversity,” says Nic. “In Year 6, for example, students camp on 90 Mile Beach at a location that can only be reached by boat. This is a real test of everything they’ve learned in previous years about personal resilience and a capacity to work with others.”
Each experience in the refreshed program builds on classroom learning, as well as offering moments of awe, wonder, and a sense of place. “We know that novel environments are fantastic for grabbing the attention of a student,” says Nic. “Novelty can often help recollection more than repetition, so linking classroom concepts with outdoor experiences means students can make some really strong learning connections.”
Investing for resilience and flexibility
The improvements made to support these activities include permanent outdoor educators who work full-time across our three campuses.
“This means students will have established relationships with the people who will run their next camp or outdoor experience, and our classroom teachers aren’t expected to be the experts,” explains Nic. “We now have the flexibility to design the program based on the strength of our team. The Outdoor Education department includes qualified teachers, expert activity instructors, and highly skilled outdoor guides – all passionate educators with broad knowledge and experience aligned with the needs and values of our community.”
The changes in 2024 will ensure our students can learn and grow with both a dedicated team and the quality resources required to manage the complexities and risks involved with contemporary outdoor education. Individual programs are being purposely crafted and responsive to the needs of students, with adaptability in everything from campsite selection, educational resources, and even the menu.
Above all, Nic says the goal of our Outdoor Education program is to build skills, resilience, and a sense of confidence that will serve students throughout their lives.
“Our purpose is to create enduring understandings. The social and emotional connections we create, along with the cognitive skills and shared experiences students have, will be with them for life.”
Beyond the Gates
Occurring at a reflective moment in their Senior School journey, Beyond the Gates (BTG) is a 20-day trip for Year 10 students, beginning with a smoking ceremony in the Chapel of St Peter, pausing mid-way for an empowering 36-hour solo camp, and culminating with a final multi-day leg in which students manage their expedition independently – the previously critical outdoor educators stepping back into advisory roles.
Responding to changing environmental conditions and enabling all groups to undertake their BTG experience concurrently, expeditions will now run across four locations, including along the original Beyond the Gates route.
Still operating in small groups, students will be allocated to expeditions based on their preferences around venue and companions.
The 2024 locations are:
Karri to Coast: WA
A challenging walk among towering forests, off-track over coastal scrub and grass-tree plains, rafting across Nornalup Inlet, and traversing wild beaches, the Bibbulmun Track hosts this expedition that explores a rarely visited corner of Australia.
Alpine Journey: NSW/ACT
Commencing at the northern end of the Australian Alpine Walking Track near Canberra, this journey will cross stunning open plains, snow gum forests, paddle across the expanse of Lake Eucumbene and delve into our nation’s Indigenous and colonial cultural legacies.
Summit to Sea: NSW/VIC
Starting with a long hike through the Kosciusko National Park and finding the headwaters of the Snowy River, before exploring the Pilot Wilderness Area, students will descend in rafts the full length of the remote and stunning Snowy to reach the ocean at Marlo, Gippsland.
The Classic: VIC/NSW
An iconic and timeless journey, perfectly paced to cross the Victorian and NSW Alps on foot, raft and cycle, over a huge range of environments: alpine, forest, riverine, farmland, foothills and plains.
Leslie Gladstone Robertson (LGR) Society
Founded in 1958, the LGR Society still offers a unique leadership experience for Year 9 – 12 students today. Older students design and lead their own bushwalking groups across four expeditions each year. Participation is voluntary. In 2024, expeditions will include:
- Leadership Development at Breakfast Creek (Autumn)
- Flagship Expedition in Northern Flinders Ranges (Winter)
- Victorian Exploration at Wilsons Promontory (Spring)
- Service and Community at Breakfast Creek (Summer)
The LGR Society is generously supported by the bequest of Leslie Gladstone Robertson (OM 1899) who wished to “promote the moral and physical development” of Senior School students.
