Outdoor Education

Outdoor Education

Breckenbrough has a long and valued tradition of Outdoor Education. This has been developed and evolved into an integrated and varied programme in its widest sense, and has become an important element of our formal curriculum.

Full participation is encouraged but we often adopt a ‘challenge by choice’ approach, with each student being able to extend their abilities in their own timescales. The activities that are offered are fully differentiated, allowing the opportunity for each student to achieve.

The aim of outdoor education at Breckenbrough is to provide our students with the skills for life. We use outdoor activities and learning outside the classroom to challenge the students and provide new experiences. The activities are used as a vehicle to promote collaboration through shared experiences and teamwork, enabling students to be reflective of their experiences and celebrate their achievements.

In addition we also offer students from Year 11 the opportunity to undertake their Bronze level Duke of Edinburgh Award

Learning outside the classroom promotes students to make connections in learning by bringing learning to life in a safe and nurturing environment. It teaches students to be resilient and promotes strategies in self-managing their behaviour.

Through shared experiences, pupils gain self-esteem and develop confidence, which they can take back into the classroom, encouraging problem solving both independently and through collaboration.

Activities:

We are ideally located between the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, which offers a great natural environment for a variety of activities. These include;

• Mountain biking,
• Indoor and outdoor rock climbing,
• Surfing,
• Canoeing and Kayaking
• Navigation
• Caving
• Cross-curricular trips, which include museums and visitor attractions.

Find more information on local sites and venues which are regularly visited by Breckenbrough as part of Outdoor Education.

Each year, the students have the opportunity to take part in residential trips both in the UK and abroad. These trips celebrate the skills and achievements of the students and promote independent living skills. Recent residential trips have included:-

• Skiing in Italy
• Mountain biking in Scotland
• Climbing in North Wales and the Lake District

Successes

Some students have recently set themselves a fundraising challenge to raise money for new school sports facilities and to support national charities. To raise the money needed, they embarked on walking the National three peaks; Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon. This was completed over three weekends and proved to be a great success.

Ofsted praised the Outdoor Education programme for reflecting the school ethos and putting it into practise.

All activities are delivered by staff holding the relevant NGB qualifications and with the experience to organise and run them. Although we do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Young Persons Act, our procedures are in line with those given for the licensing of activities.

Outdoor Education timetable

The timetable is only a guide and may change due to unforeseen circumstances such as the weather.  Outdoor Education 2022