Adventure Week

At St Dunstan’s, we believe that developing character in students is vitally important to creating a framework for academic success. Our vision is that we inspire, nurture and challenge young people to develop the knowledge, skills and interests that shape their educational journey, character and aspirations. We have a deliberately broad co-curricular programme to ensure that is the case, and no trip embodies this attitude more than Adventure Week. The aim of the week is to further and deliberately enrich our values within our student body through a wide range of exciting and challenging outdoor-based activities.

For Year 7, it was their first taste of Adventure Week, and they could not have asked for a better back drop than the beautiful north Somerset village of Churchill set in the stunning Mendip Hills. The students worked their way through an action-packed line-up of activities, even including skiing! As a result of Covid restrictions, the Ministry of Defence base in Folkestone, which usually hosts the Year 8 Adventure Week, was unable to facilitate us this year. However, undeterred, we decided to bring the bootcamp experience to St Dunstan’s. Through a combination of day trips and on-site activities delivered by external providers, the students experienced a carousel of options ranging from water sports to archery, with a taste of army/navy based activities throughout, as well as an overnight camping experience. We managed to deliver a week of events that the students not only enjoyed but benefited from enormously after a year away from their peers.

For Year 9, it was a slightly more complex week, as students divided their time between an outdoor activity centre and completing their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition. As the coaches approached the limestone cliffs of the Jurassic coast, half of the Year group stepped straight off into their DofE activities, whilst the remaining students got stuck into a wide range of adrenaline-fueled pursuits, including coasteering, climbing, kayaking and bushcraft. Wednesday marked the changeover of the groups, and by Friday the students were suitably exhausted! Home to the largest natural lake in Wales, the picturesque National Park setting in Brecon was a fitting send off for Year 10 on their final Adventure Week. With direct access to Llangorse Lake, the week was unsurprisingly packed full of water sports as well as a wide range of land-based activities. The week really was non-stop action from the moment we stepped off the coach until we got back on again. In a year of unprecedented challenges, the importance of friendship, community and the spirit of adventure has never been more relevant and we are extremely proud that we have been able to offer Adventure Week to the students.

Mr T Telford

Head of Adventurous Activities