School Trips
At Ardentinny Outdoor Education Centre, thousands of children and young people have had the opportunity to discover that they can achieve much more than they thought. From finding the courage to abseil from steep cliffs to learning how to steer a canoe through the (not so high) waves of Loch Long, such challenges and new things to learn make a visit at our centre an unforgettable experience.
Developed specifically to meet the needs of schools looking for quality outdoor education, we offer residential visits combined with a wide range of outdoor activities and opportunities to learn, develop and grow. And of course, to have fun!
And while we specialise in residential outdoor education for primary and secondary schools, we also offer our service to any other group that wants to enjoy and experience the benefits of being outside and challenging their own limits.
A trip to Ardentinny is a journey of adventure, fun and challenge for your pupils: they will learn how to deal with insecurities, being away from home maybe for the first time, they will be challenged and they will have to overcome their own fears. But it will also be an amazingly fun, adventurous experience that will help them grow as individuals and as a group, strengthen their confidence and equip them with new knowledge about themselves, about their environment and about living a healthy life.
Our standard residential school courses combine the challenge and excitement of different outdoor activities such as gorge walking, rock hopping or canoeing with the educational aspects of being out in nature and living together: pupils will not only have a few days full of fun and adventure, the will also practice how to work together as a team, sharing activities, accommodation, meals and duties, and have firsthand experience of many biological, geological and geographical phenomena that can be observed and studied around the centre.
Normally, school trips run from Monday to Friday, and include all planed activities, the personal safety and protective equipment, accommodation, and food. We consider a week-long trip to be the most beneficial for young people, as it allows for plenty of time and opportunities to learn, enjoy the activities and generally get the most out of the experience. We do however also offer shorter and longer visits, such as half-week and weekend courses.
Depending on your group’s size, participants’ age, and the time of your visit, we will put together a programme for you, which for a week-long stay usually involves 7 daytime activity sessions, 3 evening activities and a disco on the last night to celebrate. We will choose the activities from the following listdepending on what we believe fits your group best.
Please let us know if you would like a more tailored programme, and we will work with you to meet your needs.
To so what a normal day/week at Ardentinny Centre looks like, click here.
Skills for Learning
It would take a very long list of experiences and outcomes from the Scottish curriculum to note everything that a standard Monday to Friday programme at Ardentinny can touch upon. But a few of them will always be present in our courses.
We visit schools in preparation for their outing to the centre and we will be very happy to partner teacher and pupils in pursuing particular goals for their Ardentinny trip.
But no matter whatever other aims and priorities teachers have for their pupils while at the centre, all children and young people specifically:
- Develop skills and strategies which support them in challenging times (HWB 2-07a)
- Experience enjoyment and a high level of personal achievement on a daily basis by taking part in different kinds of energetic physical activities which they have chosen to do (HWB 2-25a)
- Carry out different activities and roles in unfamiliar settings (HWB 2-19a)
- Take opportunities to make friends and be part of a group in a range of situations (HWB 2-14a)
Skills for Life
The journey and the route to lifelong well-being is different for every single one of us and, for most people, there are many challenges and obstacles along the way.
At Ardentinny, we promote self-confidence and self-belief, we help develop personal resilience and we deliver a heightened feeling of well-being.
The visit to the centre will be a one-of, single event for most children and young people, but it will also be a vital formative experience with the potential to advance children and young people towards well-informed lifestyle choices and ambitions.
No matter what school you are with and no matter how long the duration of your stay is, the journey of the outdoor course will inevitably include:
- Physical and healthy activities
- Goal setting and making choices
- Engagement with challenge and risk-taking
- Adapting to change
Being well practised as a young person and comfortable with such fundamental realities of modern-day life raises the possibility of being healthy and well as a teenager and as an adult.
Skills for Work
The Scottish Curriculum aims to help every learner develop knowledge skills and attributes for learning, life and work. Pupils visiting Ardentinny can find a new context for relationships, new and varied opportunities to experience success and new ways of learning, specifically in these areas:
- Personal organisation and discipline
- Working in teams
- Communicating, problem-solving and making choices
- Recognising existing skills and achievements and identifying areas for personal development
These link to the larger agenda back at school through improved engagement, confidence and understanding.
