Outdoor Learning
At Erskine Stewart Melville we offer one of the most extensive outdoor learning programmes in Scotland, run by a full time Outdoor Learning Manager and supported by 70 staff, who share a passion for the outdoors. It gives our students so many opportunities to explore nature, build confidence, resilience, sound judgement and develop life long friendships.
Our programme offers a vast range of activities from Sunday hill-walks, sailing, surfing, orienteering and mountain biking to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme (DofE) and the Combined Cadet Force (CCF).
116
Outdoor Learning Trips
278
Students doing Duke of Edinburgh Awards
250
Students doing CCF
Unplugged Adventures
There are so many opportunities for fun, outdoor adventures in the Senior School. In S1 and S2, students dive into a full week of Outdoor Learning each summer term, taking on challenges like surfing, canyoning, river tubing, and hillwalking. While they are racing around having fun they are also building essential life skills. In S3, we venture even further, whisking students away for an eight-day adventure in the Scottish Highlands, where they leave their usual routines and phones behind to fully embrace the wild. Each summer, our Outdoor Learning team also leads an unforgettable Wilderness Adventure to Inverpolly, with students and canoes setting off into the heart of Scotland’s rugged beauty.
Learning Essential Life Skills
Unlike the sports pitch, these outdoor adventures have no winners and losers – only the experience of supporting and encouraging each other to achieve a shared goal. As they strive to overcome physical challenges the students are discovering an enormous amount about themselves. They are also learning to communicate, lead, use their own initiative and work as a team to overcome problems. These are all skills which will be fundamental to their success as adults.
