Key Stages 3 - 5

Key Stage Three Residential Visits

At Key Stage Three, curriculum objectives reinforce the many other benefits of outdoor learning for young people. Activities are fast and furious and the pace never slackens! Courses combine an appropriate level of team building with progressive skills development in a range of activities. When linked with the adventure of learning to live cooperatively and harmoniously in unfamiliar surroundings, a residential activity course is a powerful tool for both imparting valuable life skills and addressing cross curricular issues. Teachers and students alike may reap enormous benefits from shared experiences
At Key Stage Three, the Field Studies Department offers a wide range of topics relevant to both the National Curriculum and Common Entrance requirements to suit either residential or day use groups. Our staff have a wealth of experience in constructing fieldwork packages to cater for both Geography and Science as well as project work.

KS 3 Adventurous Activities
Includes all activities offered at Key Stage 2 (see previous section) with the following additions:

Watersports

Expeditions (given sufficient training)

Snowsports

Snowboarding

Landsports

Track Cycling

New Forest

Mountain Biking

KS 3 Field Studies
Abiotic survey of Southampton Water

Beach Investigation

Coastal study

Heathland Study

River Study

Tourism in the New Forest

Trawling

Village Studies

For larger secondary school groups, where curricular pressures are intense and it is difficult to spend large amounts of time out of school, we also provide courses that allow students to enjoy a range of outdoor experiences by combining academic field study topics with the Centre’s challenging activities. Thus residential students have an opportunity to spend part of their time on our climbing walls, ski slopes and cycle track, complemented by field studies such as trawling/marine ecology. This allows a number of curricular themes to be covered in a single visit, from ecological systems or geography project work, to skills development and confidence building. Linking your Calshot experience to work undertaken back at school, either directly to courses of study or indirectly, by using it as the basis for written or artistic work, will further enhance the value of your visit. Such courses are often a 50:50 split between activities and studies but we are highly flexible and able to adapt to your specific requirements.

Key Stage Four and College Groups

Calshot is ideally situated to provide a residential outdoor learning experience for all Key Stage Four students as a vehicle for personal development and teambuilding within a year group. Our staff are experienced in extending and building on students’ previous knowledge, and sensitively introducing them to new and challenging environments. An alternative approach for 6th form and College groups is to use these visits to combine adventurous activities with information gathering about the running and administration of this large and multi-faceted Outdoor Centre. This supports coursework in, for example, GNVQ leisure and tourism studies, BTEC Sport and Leisure modules, GCSE PE.

GCSE Geography and Science AS/A2 Geography and Biology

We can fulfill your individual curriculum and specification requirements for GCSE Geography and Science and AS/A2 Geography and Biology. We offer a wide range of techniques, environments and case-studies ranging from investigations into the sand-dunes of Studland Bay to a study of the honeypot sites in the New Forest. We provide extensive opportunities for project and individual investigation work and our team of specialist staff will ensure your students reach their potential through excellent staffing ratios and by creating a supportive yet challenging learning environment. Follow up work in the evenings allows time for reflection and analysis under the guidance of our staff. Alternatively, students can experience a taste of our adventurous activities in the evenings. For further information on the exciting range of topics we have to offer, please contact the Field Studies Department.

Personal Social and Health Education/Citizenship

Adventure Education is structured to maximize opportunities for groups to become more effective whilst living and working together. Through participation in a variety of exciting activities and learning to deal with challenging situations, students are stretched both mentally and physically.
We aim to ensure that each group is taught by a small team of instructors for the whole of their stay. This has enormous benefits in that mutual trust and respect may be fostered as a team emerges. Teamwork is an integral part of most physical activities at Calshot. Instructors are careful to ensure everyone in the group has a chance to demonstrate increasing self confidence, achievement and success.
Through the encouragement of realistic goal setting, students are helped to develop and recognize a range of transferable skills.

Helping you to link the benefits back to school

We can assist you in meeting your particular course objectives, which may involve:
• a whole school commitment to raising achievement. Well documented evidence suggests that self esteem and self confidence can be raised through successful participation in skillfully reviewed adventure.
• an action packed week allowing students to try a wide variety of activities offered at Calshot, where the emphasis may be to provide opportunities for progression and achieving success. The goal may be to gain skills and experience to complete RYA or BCU awards, or simply to enjoy challenging activities in a new and exciting environment.
• a dynamic Year 7 induction programme. Whole year groups follow a residential programme in order to foster team spirit and break down barriers in new tutor groups at the start of their secondary career.

We also offer supporting material evidence:
• an attractive log book to present notes/written thoughts from reviews/reflection sessions.
• digital cameras are available to record individual and group achievements to be downloaded back at school.
• students will be issued a certificate at the end of each course, which they can place in their records of achievement.
• Royal Yachting Association and British Canoe Union logbooks and certificates are available at the Centre.