Latest Cornwall Outdoors News

This one day conference will formally launch the new Guidance for the Management of Outdoor Learning, off-site visits and Learning Outside the Classroom in Cornwall. Delegates will have the opportunity to hear two world renowned speakers, Mick Waters and Leo Houlding, and to share their views and experiences of outdoor learning. In addition delegates will get the opportunity to attend two workshops delivered by top outdoor practitioners.

Conference objectives:

• inspire delegates to embrace outdoor learning
• provide practical outdoor ideas to enhance the curriculum
• share and celebrate the quality and breadth of outdoor learning in Cornwall
• provide networking opportunities for school staff and outdoor practitioners

Workshops

There will be a choice of workshops covering Early Years to Secondary.

Those confirmed so far are:

• Developing practical outdoor science skills in the primary and secondary curriculum
• The John Muir Award - an scheme that encourages pupils to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places
• Simple activities for your school grounds
• Using climbing to enhance MFL
• Using your school grounds to enhance learning in EY/KS1
• A progressive outdoor learning programme in a primary schools
• Outdoor learning and humanities
• Art in the outdoors

Keynote Speakers

Prof Mick Waters - Education Consultant

Professor Mick Waters works with the schools in the Black Country Challenge in raising standards in the West Midlands. He works with schools in other parts of the country on innovative approaches to learning and on several other initiatives to push the boundaries for making learning better.

Mick is an Honorary Fellow of the College of Teachers. He is a patron of Heads, Teachers and Industry (HTI), which seeks ways to build reciprocal understanding between sectors, and a Trustee of the Children’s University which offers a range of learning opportunities beyond the school environment. He is chair of Curriculum Enrichment for a Common Era, an organisation which promotes multicultural understanding through learning. Mick is also a patron of the Values Trust which endeavours to promote values driven approaches to learning. He is also the inaugural president of the Curriculum Foundation, which seeks to promote a voice for the power and potential of the whole curriculum.

Previously, he worked at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority as Director of Curriculum taking a leading role in helping schools to rethink their approach to curriculum design and influencing national policy on aspects of the national curriculum.

Mick believes that learning should be treasured and valued and that it needs to be shaped to fit with children’s lives. People in schools need to set understandings of their children alongside the learning they should meet to create learning that is irresistible.

Mick believes in being close to teachers, children and schools, and is often to be found in the classroom working with children. He has written books on the curriculum, teaching and learning, and management, as well as making presentations at numerous national and international conferences. He is passionate about the role of education in improving life chances for pupils. He enjoys asking adults to look at learning through the eyes of a pupil.

Leo Houlding - World class climber, alpinist, base jumper and adventurer www.leohoulding.com

Leo Houlding is quite simply one of the best climbers in the world.

A climbing prodigy, he has been on an adrenaline-fuelled adventure to push himself and his sport to the limits since he was 10 years old.

A British climbing champion by the age of 16, Leo has climbed some of the hardest routes in the world, including Mount Everest. In the last 3 years alone, Leo completed the first ascent of a route known as The Prophet on El Capitan, climbed Mount Asgard on the remote Baffin Island and scaled Cerro Autuna in the depths of the Amazon jungle.

He has just returned from leading an international team on the first ascent of a major new route on the remarkable Antarctic peak, Ulvetanna. Widely considered to be the most demanding peak on the harshest continent, the mile long north east ridge of the mountain has been described as one of "the last great climbs".

Leo’s career has been closely followed in the media since the BBC documentary about him, My Right Foot, aired in 2003. He has appeared on BBC’s Top Gear as well as hosting his own series Take Me To the Edge in 2008. 2010 saw Leo playing Sandy Irvine in the IMAX movie The Wildest Dream, retracing the last steps of Mallory and Irvine on their fateful expedition to Everest in 1924. His new science series for children, Fierce Earth, is currently airing on CBBC.

Leo is also an ambassador for Adventure Learning Schools™, an educational charity which promotes high quality adventure-based teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools.

Motivational Speaking

The most widely recognized and articulate climber of his generation he has given motivational presentations to tens of thousands of people in more than 20 countries around the world including being asked to speak to the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street in 2008.

Where and When

Tuesday 10th September 2013

The Pavilion Centre, Royal Cornwall 

Showground, Wadebridge, 

9.15 am till 4pm

How to Book

www.cornwalllearningonline.co.uk

Course Code CL024

For more information contact:

Sarah Melbourne

T: 01872 322930 

E: smelbourne@cornwall.gov.uk

The Cornwall Outdoors Pelistry Camp is available once again for use by any member of staff and their families.

Hire period 1: School Half term

• Sat 25th May to Sat 1st June 2013
• £125 per TENT per WEEK

Hire period 2: Summer holidays

• Sat 27th July to Sat 10th August 2013
• £150 per TENT per WEEK

Note: The above price does not include transport or catering

• Tents are fully boarded out, with mattresses
• Each tent will take up to 6 people
• There is a fully equipped kitchen marquee with a gas cooker and dining marquee
• There are flushing toilets and showers

This is a wonderful opportunity for staff to take their families to the beautiful Scilly Isles for a relaxing few days and get to know these wonderful islands on our doorstep.

For booking information contact : 

• Mandy Richards
• 01872 326 360
• mrichards@cornwall.gov.uk

The year 2013 began for Cornwall Outdoors’ Simon Vage with a trekking adventure through Mount Kilimanjaro. While others were writing down goals for the New Year, Simon was already out there checking off probably one of the most daring experiences one would have ever done. As he recounted his days up in the mountains, to say that it was enjoyable would be a definite understatement. 

Simon recalled how their group, composed of 14 trekkers, 1 leader, 1 medic, and 3 porters, started out with nothing but excitement for this what would seem to be a conquest. Trekking enthusiasts would agree that reaching unimaginable heights gives a different kind of elation and excitement for trekkers. The sights were breathtaking. Sunrises greeted the group who were all in awe of seeing the sun from a different angle, so to speak. The pure, clean air made it so much easier for them to appreciate this daily phenomenon on a whole new level. Rainforests throughout the trek made the experience all the more interesting, though not everything was a walk in the park. 

As the group made their way to higher altitudes, members slowly realised that they were indeed treading a whole new ground. The medic was keen enough to take everybody’s heart rate to make sure that the group was still doing well. Higher altitudes caused some of the trekkers to experience headaches and vomiting. 

Reaching the minor peak of Stella Point became a clincher for the group. People started to become very sick and the medic had no choice but to turn them back down the mountain. Others feared for their survival as one trekker even experienced temporary blindness.

Simon and the rest of the group pushed through until they reached Uhuru Peak, which is the highest point in Africa and the highest walkable mountain in the world. This made their hard work and perseverance worth it, except with a little problem called sunshine. With their current altitude, it was also dangerous to be exposed to the sun for too long.

Since their Kilimanjaro adventure, Simon’s group has been giving talks to raise funds for charities and churches. What is even more exciting is the involvement of Simon’s adventure firm in local education and a management program within Tanzania. In the next 3 years, locals and tourists will see the Kilimanjaro Project being totally run by East Africans, a development that promises a boost in the local economy. 

Cornwall Outdoors is opening its Roseland Education Centre for a 2-day art residential for children to work alongside professional artists. With St. Just and The Carrick Roads as inspirations for children, the workshop promises to stimulate creativity, develop ideas, and experiment with a wide rand of materials among the young artists. The 2-day art residential program will run from January to April 2013. 

Bespoke programmes are also available for schools that would like to accommodate the needs of their students. As professional artist, Ashley Hanson shares:

“The residency is a lot of fun for everyone - myself included! It’s a beautiful location, which we explore and draw. On our walk, we use compasses and maps, there’s a quiz, and then back at the centre, using their drawings and acrylic paints, the children experience the magic of making a large painting. The magic continues when we put the painting up in the school, a permanent reminder of their time at Roseland. Roseland has excellent facilities that children can use as they experiment with different techniques such as sketching, acrylic paint, textiles, and photography."

Cornwall Outdoors SLA members can register for £42, while non-members can register for £50, which includes full catering.

Interested schools may contact Jez Elford at 01326 270885, through email roseland@cornwall.gov.uk, by dropping by Roseland OEC, St. Just-in-Roseland, Truro, TR2 5JA.