Learning Outside the Classroom

As part of our aim to learn through diversity, we create many opportunities for our children to learn outside the traditional classroom environment. This helps them to develop many personal skills as well as to focus on their academic and cultural learning through real, hands-on experiences.

From Grade 7 (age 13), students take part in a number of long-distance, external learning experiences. These include the following:

Dorwerth ‘getting-to-know’ experience 

A 3-day getting-to-know experience for Grade 7 students. Children not only get to know each other, including their new bilingual classmates, but they also get to know the environment of The Netherlands in a practical, cross-curricular way.

England outdoor learning

Grade 8 whole year outdoor learning experience to England. The aim is to develop English language skills for everyone and provide new opportunities for activities such as outdoor pursuits and drama.

Spain and France language development

Grade 9 language development trips to Spain and France.

WWI Trip to Ypres

Grade 10 whole year visit to Ypres in Belgium providing a cross-curricular learning experience about the First World War.

Tanzania school build

As a school we are contributing funds and actual building support for a primary school in Moshe, Tanzania. This is a Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) project which makes up part of the IB Diploma Programme. Students who chose to participate take part in fundraising activities for building materials before they make the five-day visit to Tanzania to participate in the building work and take part in other safari activities.

Ardennes survival experience

Grade 11 take part in a survival trip in the Ardennes.

Pre-exam skiing

Students from Grade 12 can chose to enjoy an extra-curricular pre-exam ski trip.

“We went to Ypres and got more of an idea of what really happened in the war. We were in the trenches and went to the graves. I couldn’t believe how many people had died.

It felt so much more real than when we were reading about it. We knew we’d have to do an exhibition based on the trip when we came back to school so that helped to keep us focused on the learning while we were there.” – Georgina (grade 10)

“I had just come into the school when we went to Dorwerth. It helped me to make friends when I didn’t know anyone; we did lots of activities and sports together like using the double bicycles (tandems).” – Yann (grade 7)

“Although many of our students are well travelled, they still get a lot from our excursions. It gives them a chance to look at their learning from different points of view and they always come back to school with much stronger perspectives and opinions.” – Mr. Nigel Connor, secondary languages