Outdoor Education

The High School trips provide tremendous opportunities for students to develop across all aspects of our learner profile. The overseas expedition programme has been designed for each grade-level, to create learning opportunities in each of our four Outdoor Education curriculum Standards. Student learning in Outdoor Education is guided through intentional participation in a range of age-appropriate activities. Every student is expected to participate, as the opportunities for personal and social development offered by participation in these expeditions are impossible to replicate in the classroom. The activities and venues are thoroughly checked and annually reviewed to ensure safety of all participants. UWCSEA's overseas travel and trips operate in accordance with the College’s robust health and safety guidelines, and a new sustainable trips framework.

While we can now travel overseas again, exciting, rewarding and meaningful Outdoor Education experiences can take place in Singapore too, during your own free time.

Alistair Humphreys describes the Micro Adventure concept in this video which can be found on the Outdoor Education Micro Site

The Outdoor Education Team would like to challenge you to use the information on this site to help you plan, prepare and take action for a Singapore-based Micro Adventure during time that works for you!

Please take time to look at the overarching Guiding Principles (below) which are woven into all UWCSEA Outdoor Ed programmes no matter where they are conducted. Which of these spark your curiosity and interest?

At the bottom, we list the various Outdoor Education programme for G9, G10 and G11.

Team Outdoor Ed

“Plus est en vous – there is more in you than you think.”
Kurt Hahn, Founder of the UWC movement

The opportunities for learning at UWCSEA extend far beyond the classroom as students take on experiential challenges that build resilience, collaboration and leadership. Our Outdoor Education programme offers an incremental progression of age-appropriate experiences to students across the K–12 curricula. Whether mini-hiking in Grade 3 or student-led trekking in Grade 9, students develop confidence in their physical abilities and emotional resilience to withstand difficult situations.

Connecting to nature

The Outdoor Education programme allows students to focus on the here and now and connect with the natural world in both a physical and spiritual way. It provides an avenue for them to explore the natural environment in a safe setting, learn from mistakes, and develop perseverance and resilience.

The awareness of the environment they develop supports the College’s mission: a commitment to peace and a sustainable future.

Self-discovery

Students begin to see one another in a different light as strengths not visible in the classroom arise. Communication and collaboration skills improve as students work together to complete essential tasks such as setting up camp or preparing a meal. All activities are designed to draw from students a greater range of skills and talents than they knew they possessed.

Outcomes

Students are often surprised to find within themselves the determination, adaptability and teamwork needed to rise to the challenges these adventures present. Achievements in outdoor education are recorded through student reflections and demonstrated in the character, skills, qualities and maturity that students develop and apply across all aspects of the learning programme and in their lives. What the students say:

“For the nights that we camped, we were required to cook dinner for ourselves and set up our own tents. These tasks were both very challenging. While cooking dinner, we had to work efficiently as a group which taught me how to put aside conflicts that I had in order to get our tasks done. Setting up our tents was very tough, everyone in the team had to be doing the same thing at the same time and at the same pace for everything to be able to work together. If we didn’t work well as a group, it would be us who suffered.”
Grade 8 Student (East) Chiang Mai

“Completing Project Week shows how much we, as students, have evolved. It’s especially rewarding if you’re a student who has been at UWCSEA for a long time, because you’ve been through all the trips where there was a lot of control and guidance and assistance from teachers. In Grade 4 you don’t ever leave the teacher’s sight! Then by Grade 9, you find more freedom and it’s fun to relish this, though you still find teachers there who are making the decisions. And then in Grade 11, it’s all entirely up to you!”
Grade 11 student (Dover), Project Week

Here are a few quotes from our Outdoor Education team:

“Expanding both the physical and mental horizon. This can be done in a full on challenging situation such as surfing, kayaking or in the most calm and relaxed situation like star gazing. Quiet contemplation is an important part of connecting to both current, past and future experiences.”

“Often an elevated appreciation of the comforts of home, hopefully, some lasting thoughts and questions about human impact on the planet, and last but not least an appetite for more adventurous nature-based journeys.”

“I believe giving students the opportunity to be...in a natural environment that is foreign to them, then supporting them through a series of success and failures, leads to their vast sense of achievement along with new skills, friendships, and unique memories to takeaway that are woven into the fabric of who they are becoming.”

Guiding Principles