It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Outdoor Education department here at Ivybridge Community College. 

Mr G Payne
Head of Outdoor Education

Having previously worked as a Head of Physical Education / Head of Outdoor and Adventurous Activities and as a Manager and Volunteer for the Ten Tors Challenge and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, I am extremely excited about the prospect of offering both of these amazing activities to the students here at the college this coming year (Year 9 and above).

 

Ten Tors Challenge

his annual ‘South-West’ event is attempted by 2400 teenagers in 400 teams of 6 participants.

Please see the link below to visit the Ten Tors website for further information.

 

The teams are trained by the Outdoor Education team over the winter months between November and April, developing a wide range of expedition skills:

• Navigation / route finding in poor weather in remote locations
• Recognising and avoiding hazards 
• Dealing with emergency situations including First Aid response
• Wild camping and cooking
• Team work and leadership

Teams navigate routes of.

• 35 Miles - Years 9 and 10

• 45 Miles - Year 10 and 11

• 55 Miles -Year 11 to 13

...over the Northern half of Dartmoor, visiting ten nominated tors / checkpoints in under two days.

Teams are trained to become self-sufficient, carrying all that they need to complete their route and wild camp overnight safely.

Ten Tors develops a wide range of attributes including.

• Resilience
• Determination
• Problem-solving
• Teamwork
• Leadership

...all of which are great for personal development as well as for future employability.

Above all, the challenge gives participants a massive sense of achievement and creates amazing lifelong memories!

 

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (DofE)

Internationally recognised, this is the world’s leading youth achievement award.

Please see the link to the DofE website below for further information.

The award consists of four activity sections:

1. Volunteering

2. Physical

3. Skill

4. Expedition

 

It is up to participants to decide what they do for sections 1,2 and 3.

One of the great things about DofE is that participants may already be doing one or more activities that they can use to complete their award activity section(s).

If not, they can start something new or do a mixture of the two!

Please see the Duke of Edinburgh Programme Ideas link below to get you thinking about all the possibilities. The Duke of Edinburgh award has three award levels:

 

• Develops and recognises a wide range of student achievement
• Offers challenge
• Is very popular with universities and employers
• Results in lifelong friendships
• and above all is great fun!

 

 

 

Adult volunteers