VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM
world. Only by taking risks can children learn to assess their limits and make informed decisions which will help to prepare them for their adult lives.
York House places a lot of emphasis on outdoor learning and adventure. Why is this so important?
Along with strong academic success, we firmly believe that we must also look to develop character and instill positive learning habits. Exams and grades are important, but we think there should be room in childhood for joy, wonder, delight and adventure. We achieve a lot of this through our outdoor learning programme. We focus on the children’s holistic development, recognising the crucial role outdoor education plays in nurturing wellbeing. Through a diverse range of activities like mountain biking, shelter building, campouts, highland hikes and lake fishing, students not only engage in thrilling adventures but also find respite from the rigours of academic life.
These experiences serve as powerful tools for stress relief too, allowing students to unwind and recharge amidst the beauty of nature. Our natural surroundings also provide an ideal setting for mindfulness, offering tranquillity and solitude for reflection. By fostering a connection with the environment, we empower students to prioritise their mental health and cultivate a balanced approach to life. We believe that outdoor education is not just an extracurricular activity; it’s an integral part of our commitment to nurturing well-rounded individuals.
What kind of risk-led experiences have pupils at York House been participating in? At school we run over 100 different co-curricular clubs with risk-led adventure activities forming
a key part of our offering. Most recently the children have been participating in shotgun shooting, which has been great for developing discipline, focus and learning about responsibility in a structured environment. It has also helped children with their hand-eye co-ordination, fine motor skills and concentration. Shooting often emphasises safety protocols and ethics too, as well as boosting teamwork and camaraderie. Aquatics has been another key area for our school, we run an annual trip trekking in the Highlands where pupils engage in sea kayaking around a sea loch, mackerel fishing, daily swimming in wild open water, body boarding, hiking up mountains and even lobster creeling. Likewise, our pupils have been enjoying activities like scuba diving and water polo, snorkelling, canoeing and paddle sports. As well as being beneficial for their physical, mental, and social
development, incorporating water-based activities into the school curriculum has provided the children with unique learning experiences that promote their overall wellbeing. It has been clear to see that when our pupils are safely pushed beyond their comfort zone, the overall experience of completing a task is vastly more rewarding and often leads to a confident thirst for success in other areas.
What plans do you have to develop more risk-led opportunities in the future? We now have two qualified scuba divers within our staff, and we’re running a diving trip to Malta for our pupils to allow them to gain their Junior PADI Open Water. We are also looking to take our kayaking sessions outside so pupils can achieve their British Canoeing Paddle Power Passports. Trips like these allow children to demonstrate and utilise the skills learnt in school. Our partnership with The London Oyster Diving Club also helps pupils to learn within a truly open water setting, diving on war wrecks and into cave entrances. Our school has also become a North London training hub for the Oyster Diving Club, externally offering open water courses for new starters.
We have a real belief in “Type 2 Fun”. Type 1 Fun is sitting under a duvet playing a video game. Fun, yes, but hardly memorable. Type 2 Fun is climbing a mountain in a hailstorm; it’s fishing for hours to get one bite – challenging, even tough, but when we look back on it, a memorable and meaningful day in our life.
How do risk-related activities feed into your school’s values and culture?
Aside from our focus on adventure and outdoor learning we want our pupils to leave us with a positive outlook, with strong self-reliance and to leave people and places better than they found them. These aims have been learned from an extraordinary man called John Ridgway who had time, as he rowed across the Atlantic in 1966, to refine his thoughts and the aims for his Adventure School.
November 2025
www.education-today.co.uk 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
