Outdoor Education

The Hurst Outdoor Education programme covers The Duke of Edinburgh Award Service Afternoon on Wednesdays, which consists of CCF Army and RAF for the Remove (Year 10) and above, and Environmental Conservation & Community Service for the Fifth Form (Year 11) and above. A CCF RN section was recently established.

Outdoor education activities for the whole Senior School take place throughout the week with some weekend trips away to practise, for example, climbing and kayaking skills.

An overview of Outdoor Education for the year 2007/8

In the Michaelmas term continued climbing instruction and practical sessions on the rocks with kayaking in the pool, including a Monday evening kayaking club which has allowed plenty of skills practice in preparation for the trip to Nepal, taking place in the 2008 Michaelmas half term holiday. We had numerous visits to local climbing walls and the rocks of East Grinstead, Portland and South Wales. Through both the CCF and Outdoor Pursuits we have seen a group of older pupils gain NGB qualifications in Kayaking, Canoeing and Mountaineering.

The Shell (Year 9) has also had every opportunity to climb and kayak alongside the more senior pupils and they are all well on the way to achieving personal skill awards next year.

Extra-curricular trips included a February half term ski trip and a short trip to the French Alps in the Summer term half term break, where pupils and staff cycled sections of the Tour de France.

For the Duke of Edinburgh there have been a number of training and assessment expeditions both to Ashdown Forest, along the South Downs and in North and South Wales. The Duke of Edinburgh expedition weekends for the Remove seemed to attract extremes of weather from torrential rain to blistering sunshine. The weather did not stop 74 pupils completing the entire expedition package successfully. The Fifth Form seemed to have fared much better on the weather front for all the training and assessment weekends held in October, March and again in May. This has allowed 16 pupils to complete their assessment and 28 to complete their practice.

Duke of Edinburgh Service afternoon has also allowed many Fifth and Lower Sixth boys and girls to broaden their horizons. The Fifth and Lower Sixth have also had the opportunity to participate in Recycling, Conservation and Community Service. The woodland project has provided a splendid area of reclaimed meadow and pond, which is accessible to the Upper Sixth form residents of St John’s House and the pupils in the Prep School. Recycling is becoming more of a priority with pupils starting to acknowledge the importance and value of this to our community. Community Service has had a splendid year with many pupils fully engaged in their project and showing commendable commitment.