St John’s College (Hillcrest)

Level 1 Outdoor Education

Course Description

Teacher in Charge: Mr K. Jackways.

Recommended Prior Learning

An interest in the Outdoors. An interest in a career in adventure tourism/ guiding/ instructing, conservation, event planning, risk management.

Students choosing this course will take part in a wide range of outdoor pursuits including; Mountain Biking, Kayaking, Caving and Orienteering. Students will be introduced to basic concepts like the environmental care code and sustainability. They will be shown how to use a range of different types of outdoor equipment and its purpose. They will get to hear from speakers from within the outdoors industry in relation to potential career pathways. Students will be out of school for approximately ten days.

Outdoor Education offers highly useful skills in real contexts. Skills which are both practical and also easily transferable into any workplace.

These skills, such as decision making, planning, risk management, team work, organisation, time management, communication, perseverance and resilience, just to name a few, are all learnt and practiced under pressure, often outside of their comfort zones, in real time, practical situations, much like todays work environments, making them invaluable to all students regardless of their career pathway.

This course also allows students to become more aware of how much they are really capable of by consistently working on the edge of or outside their comfort zones in order to complete challenges they may have initially thought they were not capable of. This allows for huge growth in self-confidence, self-worth and resilience. It aims to grow a connection with the outdoors and our role as kaitiaki (guardians) of the environment, to ensure it remains pristine for future generations to enjoy.

Course Overview

Term 1
Kayaking skills on flat and moving water. Rolling a Kayak, Preparation skills for an outdoor activity

Term 2
Tramping, Camping, Weather, Land Safety Code, Maps.

Caving, Responsible behaviour in the outdoors.

Term 3
Rock Climbing, Abseiling, Personal awareness and Positive Behaviour for an Outdoor Activity.

Faculties:

Physical Education

Assessment Information

This is a Unit Standard course

Skills, such as decision making, planning, risk management, team work, organisation, time management, communication, perseverance and resilience, just to name a few, are all learnt and practiced under pressure, often outside of their comfort zones, in real time, practical situations, much like todays work environments, making them invaluable to all students regardless of their career pathway.