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Adventure is an integral part of our curriculum, fostering resilience, leadership, and holistic development.”
In our Junior School adventure programs, students become architects of their own learning, navigating through challenges, reflections, and planning stages. Through the lens of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme ( IB PYP) curriculum, they explore, inquire, and evolve, embodying the attributes of the IB learner profile.
From immersive camps at Anglesea to Year Level Outdoor Education Camps at Camp Ibis (featured in the video) and the iconic Year 6 Canberra trip, each experience is a stepping stone towards self-discovery.
Our Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Program instills a spirit of adventure, while Curriculum-based adventures in VCE and IB blend academic rigor with personal growth.
At the Leadership Conference, Year 12 students forge bonds and hone their skills amidst nature’s grandeur, preparing for the challenges ahead.
Junior School
Adventure Programs
Throughout the Junior School, multiple opportunities exist for students to engage with the experiential learning cycle through its challenge, reflection, and planning components.
The IB PYP curriculum is a student-centered approach to education which begins with the premise that students are agents of their own learning and partners in the learning process. Through each Unit of Inquiry, PYP students use their initiative to take responsibility and ownership of their learning. By learning through inquiry and reflecting on their own learning, PYP students develop knowledge, conceptual understandings, skills and the attributes of the IB learner profile to make a difference in their own lives, their communities and beyond.
The Junior School adventure program immerses students in hands-on experiences, aligning with the experiential learning cycle. In addition to the enriching excursions and incursions tailored to each year level, our adventure program extends to immersive camps at Anglesea and the College Outdoor Education Centre, including the renowned ‘Camp Ibis’ nestled on the Banksia Peninsula in East Gippsland. These experiences, complemented by a Year 2 sleepover, provide invaluable opportunities for students to embrace challenges, foster growth, and cultivate lifelong skills in an immersive outdoor setting.
Outdoor Ed Camps
Year Level Outdoor Education Camps – Years 3 to 10
Students engage in a variety of overnight adventure camps that include activities such as paddling, adventure racing, orienteering, mountain bike riding, and hiking; many of which may take the students out of their comfort zone.
Students will travel to the College Outdoor Education Centre ‘Camp Ibis’ from Year 4 to Year 8 and each year, the level of challenge increases, and the level of student co-agency also increases. Staff facilitate activities and challenges to provide adventures where students can learn more about themselves and others. Staff also provide a platform for discussions on how students have responded to the challenges, coping mechanisms, and ways to improve in the future when faced with a similar scenario.
Students reflect on their preparation and participation and look to ways to take skills learnt onto the next outdoor experience or journey.
Canberra Trip
Year 6 Canberra Trip
The adventure experience for Year 6 students attending the Canberra Trip includes an increase in student co-agency and a push outside the travel comfort zones.
Students travel away from home for four nights and have to manage their day to day activities without a parent support. There are some physical challenges including moving through various presentations and activities across multiple days.
Students also are challenged physically at activities such as Questacon and the Australian Institute of sport. Sleeping in unfamiliar surrounds and choosing meals that will sustain students will also have an element of adventurous challenge.
Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Program – Years 9 to 12
Adventure is baked into the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Program by design.
The Adventurous Journey section encourages young people, as part of a small team, to plan, train for and undertake a journey with a defined purpose in an unfamiliar environment.
The Physical Recreation section of the Award encourages young people to participate in sport and other physical recreation for the improvement of health, wellbeing and fitness.
Senior School Programs
Curriculum-based Adventures – Years 10 to 12, VCE and IB
Curriculum-based Adventures in VCE and IB offer students a dynamic learning experience that integrates academic rigor with personal growth. Planning and experiencing through adventure activities consolidates learning and growth. Students often report learning more on one camp than in a whole term of classroom tuition.
These adventures encourage students to embrace challenges, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills while allowing for deep reflection and self-discovery. The planning component empowers students to contribute to both the design and execution of the experiences, set goals and know immediately and intimately when they have been successful or if they still have skills to accomplish. By seamlessly weaving together challenge, reflection, and planning, this approach equips students with the tools and mindset necessary for excelling in the demanding VCE and IB programs.
