Mud, Midges, and Volcanoes: Why Education Happens Outside the Classroom
Seeing our students wrestling with oversized rucksacks and buying up the local supply of blister plasters, has made me rather nostalgic. It took me right back to my own Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) days at school. If I am honest, my early experiences mostly consisted of getting spectacularly lost in a farmer's field, eating semi-crunchy pasta cooked over a temperamental Trangia, and discovering the hard way that 'waterproof' is a highly optimistic term. Yet, those character-building, blister-inducing weekends sparked in me a lifelong love for outdoor education.
Years later, I found myself supporting Gold DofE expeditions out in Malaysia. Kayaking around deserted, sun-drenched islands was brilliant, though a lot of my time was spent trying to ensure teenagers remembered their suncream whilst navigating tropical currents. It was also on these trips that I mastered the highly precarious art of brewing a lunchtime cup of coffee on a moving kayak using a Trangia stove. Managing to keep boiling water upright and a flame lit whilst bobbing about in the sea is a skillset they don't teach you on the teacher training programmes. Following that, I led the programme at the school I worked at in Guatemala. We were actually the very first school in the country to offer DofE, and it was quite the baptism of fire. I vividly remember dragging a group of teenagers (many of whom had never slept out in a tent before, let alone owned a pair of walking boots) up the side of an active volcano. Watching those kids, entirely out of their comfort zones, reach the summit and realise what they were truly capable of was life-changing for them, and honestly, for me too.
This brings me to our current brave cohort. This weekend, we have 14 students heading out on their Gold practice expedition right here in Scotland. I cannot overstate what a huge number that is for us. To put it into perspective, when I worked in a school of 2,000, our largest ever cohort was 19 one year, and we were absolutely thrilled with that. To see over a third of our Grade 11 students being brave enough to get this far is nothing short of incredible. I’ll concede that the Scottish Highlands might lack active volcanic craters, and we're a bit short on deserted tropical islands (and the tropical weather). Instead, our students will be facing the majestic, rugged beauty of the Scottish wilderness, which, as we all know, often involves a fair bit of horizontal rain, boggy ground, and the ever-present threat of midges! Taking on a Gold expedition is tough anywhere, but tackling it in Scotland requires a special kind of grit. They are truly living our school values and pushing themselves well and truly out of their comfort zones. Keep your fingers crossed, this beautiful weather sticks and they at least manage to stay dry.
In schools, it is so easy for us all to get fixated on assessments, grades, and academic milestones. Those are, of course, vitally important. But education simply has to be about more than what happens behind a desk. Programmes like DofE teach the curriculum of life. When you strip away the Wi-Fi, the central heating, and the creature comforts, young people are forced to rely entirely on themselves and each other. Out there in the heather, they are learning genuine resilience; realising that their legs can keep moving even when they are soaked through and convinced the hill is never-ending. They are mastering teamwork as they work out how to motivate a grumpy mate and navigate the delicate diplomacy required to decide who carries the tent poles. They are developing real-world problem-solving skills, figuring out how to read an Ordnance Survey map when Google Maps isn't an option or how to keep a camp stove lit in a gale (or in my case brew coffee on a kayak). Above all, they are building self-belief, experiencing that brilliant glow of pride when they finally drop their heavy bags at the campsite and think, I actually did that. Ultimately, while academic success opens doors, it is character, resilience, and a willingness to tackle the uphill climbs that will carry them through.
So, to our 14 Gold DofE students heading out this weekend: you can do it! Pack spare socks, remember to laugh when things go pear-shaped, and embrace the adventure. To their parents: brace yourselves for the state of the laundry arriving home on Sunday evening. It will be terrifying, but it is the definitive sign of a job well done.
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