Adventure
We have a discerning approach to developing our adventure education curriculum and are particularly keen to take advantage of our wonderful 150-acre campus and surrounding area.
We offer our pupils activities such as camping, orienteering, kayaking, climbing, outdoor cookery, survival skills, cycling, as well as first aid and lifesaving. We also however look beyond our doorstep and have taken pupils on adventures to locations such as Iceland, the Arctic, Sweden, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, and Tanzania.
Challenge events are also taken particularly seriously with several teams entering the 125 mile Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race every year, as well as our own Brecons Challenge, involving a weekend of kayaking, cycling and running through the Welsh mountains.
We are also unique in maintaining and sailing our very own Tall Ship, Jolie Brise, which is used for both sail training and as a classroom for other subjects.
We strive to instil a strong spirit of adventure in all of our pupils, believing that doing so will serve them as well outside of the classroom as it will inside. Through our Adventure Education Programme, we see pupils’ confidence and self-esteem rise dramatically as they discover what they are capable of achieving when put to the test.
Sam Moore, Head of Adventure Education
Strands of Adventure
Within our provision of adventure at Dauntsey's, there are two strands - Accessible Adventure and High Adventure. Lower School pupils develop a passion for adventure through the accessible adventure programmes which is then developed and expanded as they move up into the Upper School when they can take on more challenging activities in the high adventure programmes.
Dauntsey’s Ten Adventurous Behaviours
To be open to trying new experiences and entering new environments
To show resilience and good humour in the face of adversity
To be able to recognise, analyse and control risks and to use this knowledge to act boldly
To be able to learn from experiences, whether successful or not
To treat the environments you enter and the cultures and people you come into contact with dignity and respect
To be able to admit and correct our mistakes.
To be as concerned for others as we are for ourselves and treat both with respect
To be organised but flexible
To be able to provide leadership where needed and to follow leadership where appropriate
To enjoy our experiences
Jolie Brise
Jolie Brise, arguably one of the most famous tall ships in the world, has been sailed and maintained by pupils from Dauntsey's School for 43 years. She is a Category 0 vessel – allowed to go anywhere in the world, at any time – and Dauntsey’s pupils have sailed her across the Atlantic six times, crossed the Bay of Biscay 10 times, and navigated up to 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle.