Prep Outdoor Learning

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Our beautiful 70 acre woodland setting provides our children with a world of opportunity to embrace the outdoor classroom.

Our engaging curriculum gives children a dedicated Outdoor Learning lesson every week, with the opportunity to learn a wide range of life skills.

   

From Year 3-8, our bushcraft sessions help students further strengthen this connection by acquiring skills and knowledge to thrive in the natural environment where they learn the confidence to rely upon themselves and draw upon their resourcefulness. Moreover, they begin to develop an understanding and knowledge of nature and how to use it.

  • Outdoor Learning Award

    From Year 4, the children begin their St Neot’s Outdoor Learning Award. The award is designed to challenge students as they progress through their outdoor learning, and provide them with a certificate of achievement upon completion of three phases. This progressive approach to outdoor learning brings together forest school and outdoor classroom activities, as well as on and off-site camps, culminating in an expedition challenge.

       

    Year 4 (Phase 1)


    Ember Award – On-Site Camp A fun camp for children to build friendships and learn new skills. The focus for this camp is building bonds and learning some bushcraft basics. They will spend a night under canvas and enjoy team building games and evening campfires.

       

    Year 6 (Phase 2)


    Spark Award – Residential Camp This camp is a 3 day residential at the Great Tew Estate in Oxfordshire. It is designed to add additional skills including more advanced fire lighting, cooking with fire, and use of cutting tools. It will also include a wild camp night, sleeping in natural shelters or tarps and hammocks.

       

    Year 8 (Phase 3)


    Fire – Expedition Challenge This phase will put into practice everything pupils have learned so far, with a 3 day expedition style bushcraft challenge. They will be self-sufficient, carrying their equipment and sleeping in bushcraft shelters overnight, preparing their own meals and covering distance each day between camps.

  • Bushcraft

    Bushcraft is a truly vast subject and is the perfect vehicle to deliver a progressive plan which children could follow throughout their time at St Neot’s. There is far more to it than lighting fires and toasting marshmallows, so we would use the breadth of the subject to incorporate a variety of skills and character lessons. These skills will all be tested during the camps, and all camps led by experienced instructors who would share their knowledge with the children and coach them through new activities.

  • Character Education

    Character Education is an integral part of the outdoor learning curriculum and equips children with the necessary life skills they need as they grow up. From Year 3, children engage in a range of cerebral, team-building challenges using portable resources and outdoor hubs. The sessions aim to build character qualities such as resilience, teamwork, communication, leadership, creativity and confidence. The children are challenged along the way, allowed to fail (in a controlled manner), and learn how to deal with setbacks.

  • Mountain Biking

    Children in years 3 – 8 have structured mountain biking lessons for half a term every year where they learn to look after themselves, their bike and advance their technical riding skills. These lessons take place on our dedicated mountain bike tuition area and our own woodland trails. In Year 7 and 8, they have the opportunity of venturing further afield to work on their stamina in the adjoining Forestry Commission land in Bramshill Forest.

  • Orienteeing

    From Year 5, children start developing their navigational skills in orienteering sessions. These lessons progress from small-scale exercises on a tennis court to using compasses to navigate around the whole school site. The children use the permanent orienteering course as well as orienteering control flags to complete competition loops, star exercises and odds and even challenges.

  • First Aid

    First Aid lessons are delivered from Year 3 – 8 covering a wide range of topics including: Emergencies and calling for help, Bites and stings, Burns and Scalds, Allergies, Bleeding, Asthma, Choking, Head injuries and Basic life support (CPR and AED).

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