CBC Students Bound For Adventure

6 March 2001

Christchurch Baccalaureate College has forged a partnership with the world famous Outward Bound School to offer a new style of "classroom" defined not by walls, but by stunning mountains, bush, rivers and sea.

In another first for Christchurch¹s newest secondary school, Year 10 students at CBC will tackle an eight week retreat at Anakiwa in the Marlborough Sounds, where Outward Bound is based.

The aim of this and other CBC outdoor education programmes is to build students¹ self-esteem, self-confidence, skills, knowledge and awareness using outdoor education as a platform and the New Zealand wilderness as the venue.

"We believe that education is a living process and can never be limited to the classroom," says CBC Principal Brian Hays.

"The partnership between CBC and Outward Bound creates a new environment for learning in one of New Zealand¹s most breath-taking locations. It¹s an exciting opportunity for our young people to experience this country¹s best natural features in a safe and supportive setting.

"Like CBC, Outward Bound is committed to the personal development of young New Zealanders and promotes traditional education values with a modern edge."

The challenging Year 10 retreat has been developed especially for young people in this age group and combines the ultimate outdoor education experience with related academic studies.

Three out of every eight days on the retreat have been set aside for integrated studies. CBC faculty will rotate at Outward Bound and focus students on aspects of their subjects that relate to the outdoors.

"With students striving for some NCEA qualifications in Year 10, their internal assessment will continue at Anakiwa with, for example, a geography exercise on micro-climates or an astrological study of the night sky," says Mr Hays.

The Outward Bound retreat is part of a range of comprehensive outdoor education programmes at CBC, which opens in Christchurch next January for Years 7 to 11.

Leadership training, team-building, creative and physical activities will be incorporated into all of the programmes, which include a two day ŒIntroduction to the Outdoors¹ (Year 7), a week-long ŒCommunity Service Camp¹ (Year 12) and an ŒEnd-of-Year Expedition¹ (Year 13).

CBC Executive Director Kate Averill ­ herself a former survival instructor and professional mountaineering guide ­ believes the College¹s unparalleled outdoor education opportunities will stimulate and inspire students.

"We want to see students graduating from CBC with a deeper measure of themselves and a higher regard for humankind. Providing such rich and diverse experiences of the outdoors is just one way of showing that CBC offers programmes that go the extra mile for students.

"I only wish these kind of opportunities had been around when I was at school."

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