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SCHOOL LIFE | CASE STUDY | 33


OU T S I D E! NOW!


Barfield School headmaster Robin Davies explains some of the benefits of taking an ‘outdoorsy’ approach


Our year three humanities teacher was recently trying to convey what it was like living in the Stone Age. She used a video clip on the interactive whiteboard and used a text book and worksheets, but was still not satisfied that the children were fully appreciative of the conditions that the hunters and gatherers of the day would have lived in. What did she do? She took them on a mammoth hunt in the woods. To say the children were animated as a result of their stalking through the trees armed only with sticks and stones is an understatement, and that is without actually being successful in their quest for mammoth meat. Barfield School has had a strong


reputation for delivering an “outdoorsy” education for many years, benefiting from having our own home-grown adventure facility called 3Peaks that offers high-ropes, low-ropes, quad bikes, initiative challenges and archery. To maximise our use of the grounds to support the teaching and learning in all the different subjects has been one of our main educational developments. The Barfield curriculum is litered


with innovative examples of using the school grounds to enhance the children's learning. Year two have been constructing graphs on the lawn using sticks for axes to measure numbers of natural items found; year four have been


“TO SAY THE CHILDREN WERE ANIMATED AS A RESULT OF THEIR STALKING THROUGH THE TREES ARMED ONLY WITH STICKS AND STONES IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT”


out pacing the proportional distances of the solar system based on a five centimetre diameter sun; year six have returned from the neighbouring woods to do creative writing on “the lovely, deep and dark woods”. As well as the children's strong


academic results supporting this approach, there is also compelling evidence that the children are healthy in both body and mind because of the active, kinaesthetic nature of the learning, and the seting of the learning – our natural outdoors. There will always


be the tried and tested systems of classroom learning, the time-honoured times tables and spellings that instil a sense of discipline and determination and


Barfield School W: www.barfieldschool.com


establish a solid knowledge base, and we consistently produce excellent core academic results. However, the children's broader learning of what lies beyond just their ABCs and 123s is magnified by a cleverly woven ‘curriculum map’ that plots threads of experiential outdoor learning activities to complement the classroom-taught subjects. Communication, creative and


critical thinking skills and personal development are nurtured to great effect with our ‘extra-layer' programmes, including Forest Schools, A.C.E. (Awareness, Commitment and Empowerment) and T.O.T. (Thinking Outside The…). We believe that the full range of learning opportunities from this multi-dimensional approach creates a broader minded young person, stimulated in their learning about all aspects of life and living. The ‘weave’ of the curriculum map also allows for planning the different aspects of sustainable action and social responsibility. Indeed, it remains our ongoing mission to produce the matrix of learning opportunities to educate the most sustainably minded


and socially responsible children for the future. iE


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