Outdoor Education

Windermere School firmly believes in the importance of learning outside of the classroom. To this end Outdoor Education is seen as being an important part of a student’s life. However, our emphasis on the outdoors is more than just learning how to sail, or navigate on a mountain; it is also about enriching the curriculum by adding valuable skills learned outdoors that can be adapted to their academic understanding and knowledge base.  

Two unique outdoor education programmes are offered as an integral part of curriculum time. Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 take part in the Lower School Adventure Programme, the natural progression from the Elleray Adventure! programme.  Each year group has an entire morning devoted to outdoor education once every two weeks during term time. This programme uses traditional outdoor activities to help students boost their self-confidence, teamwork, self-awareness, social skills and motivation, as well as their academic skills. This includes climbing, mountain biking, caving, sailing, kayaking, canoeing and Bush skills.

Students in the Sixth Form can opt to undertake the Windermere Vocational Diploma. This course offers the opportunity to study outdoor education and discover how and why it is used as a learning medium. It contains academic elements within the core IB prgramme, as well a BTEC in Sport and Adventure, with strong emphasis for both personal development in leadership and outdoor skill acquisition.