Outdoor Education

How exactly does outdoor education work? And how do we design a student trip that challenges, enriches, and teaches? The answer is simple: participatory learning, site visits, and field school!

Our goal is not just to get children out into the great outdoors, but to instill in them respect for the environment and encourage them to positively impact the world around them. 

Our Curriculum

We have developed a sequential programme for students aged 7 – 18 based on Curriculum Guidelines from Outdoor Education Australia. The programme gives students a broad range of critical outdoor and personal development skills, ranging from health and environmental management to conservation and culture.

Each year, we build on core areas and offer certification for individual students after successfully completing each stage, through our Adventure Passport Programme. In this way, schools are able to deliver well-structured outdoor education and adventure trips in different locations. 

Ten Steps To Quality Outdoor Education

All of our trips are guided by the Outdoor Council’s 10 Step Positive Outcomes model.

  • Enjoyment

    Young people enjoy participating in outdoor activities and adopt a positive attitude to challenge and adventure.

  • Confidence

    Young people are gaining personal confidence and self-esteem by taking on challenges and achieving success.

  • Social Awareness

    Young people are developing their self-awareness and social skills, and their appreciation of the contributions and achievements of themselves and of others.

  • Environmental Awareness

    Young people are becoming alive to the natural environment and understand the importance of conservation and sustainable development.

  • Activity Skills

    Young people are acquiring and developing a range of skills in outdoor activities, expeditions and exploration.

  • Personal Qualities

    Young people are demonstrating increased initiative, self-reliance, responsibility, perseverance and commitment.

  • Key Skills

    Risk Management: Young people are developing and extending their key skills of communication, problem-solving, leadership and teamwork.

  • Health & Fitness

    Young people are learning to appreciate the benefits of physical fitness and the lifelong value of participation in healthy leisure activities.

  • Increased Motivation and Appetite for Learning

    Young people are displaying an increased motivation and appetite for learning that is contributing to raised levels of attainment in other aspects of their education.

  • Broadened Horizons

    Young people are broadening their horizons and becoming open to a wider range of employment opportunities and life chances.

Read the full Guide developed by the English Outdoor Council on High-Quality Outdoor Education.

Exceptional outdoor education should be challenging but safe; modern children need to be cajoled out of their comfort zones within sensible parameters, they need to learn to understand and manage risk. It should be consistent and progressive; knowledge, skills and experiences should be built upon and extended year after year. It needs to be accountable; children deserve a reflective and meaningful record of their experiences that is personal to them. RVA share Peponi House’s vision of such provision and their wonderful camps and adventurous activities, coupled with dedicated, professional staff and the Adventure Passport, ensure all this and more.
Mike Peck
Trips Coordinator, Peponi House School