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Our Prep Outdoor Explorers is Award Winning.So Why Learn Outside? |
St Swithun’s Outdoor Explorers has been ‘highly commended’ in the Muddy Stiletto's Best Schools Award in the ‘Best Experiential Learning’ category. We are very proud of our unique Outdoor Explorers programme, and it has become an integral part of the St Swithun’s Prep School experience. Our beautiful campus and purpose-built outdoor learning setting provides the perfect place for children to engage with nature and learn beyond the classroom.
Through the hands-on activities and exploration, students have developed a deeper understanding of the environment, enhanced their problem-solving skills, and built essential teamwork skills. The Outdoor Explorers sessions have become a highlight for both pupils and staff and have enabled the curriculum to travel to a space that feels like play.
Why outside learning?
It’s no surprise that research supports what we see every week: children thrive when they learn outdoors. Studies have found that time in nature can boost confidence, communication, motivation, physical skills, and overall knowledge and understanding.
One study by O’Brien and Murray found that children involved in 'Forest School' activities developed higher self-esteem, stronger teamwork skills, and a more positive approach to learning. For our pupils, this means that Outdoor Explorers is not simply an enjoyable break from the classroom – it’s a powerful way to grow in independence and curiosity.
Head of Outdoor Learning at St Swithun’s, Caroline Albin, added, “In Outdoor Explorers sessions, pupils are not only developing knowledge and skills that enrich their learning across the curriculum. They learn to problem solve, work as a team and connect with the natural world, and we see them return to the classroom happier and more engaged.”
Outdoor Explorers at St Swithun’s
In the Early Years, Outdoor Explorers sessions take much of their inspiration from the ethos and best practice of Forest School. Each two-hour weekly session begins in the outdoor classroom with a welcome and a reminder about the safety rules and boundaries. A guided craft activity is modelled and completed in small groups, or the children may wish to explore and play more independently, building dens, climbing trees, gardening, playing in the mud kitchen or hunting for wildlife. Towards the end of the session, the group re-gathers to share a snack, sometimes hot chocolate, a toasted marshmallow, popcorn or some other treat cooked on the campfire. Children are encouraged to follow their own interests and build on any emerging skills, meaning that although lesson plans are in place, sessions may evolve in different ways.
As our pupils move from Reception into years 1 and 2, more team building, geography, history and science is gradually brought into the curriculum, and they work towards achieving a National Outdoor Learning Award (NOLA). This aims to capture and celebrate six value areas: Safe, Learn, Respect, Self, Others and Environment through eighteen skills linked to numerous learning theories and the national curriculum.
In Key Stage 2, pupils take part in termly Outdoor Explorers Afternoons, where an area of their curriculum is explored practically and in depth in the outdoors. Previous sessions have included Stone Age fire making, cooking and den building, a Battle of Bosworth re-enactment, a Roman archaeological dig and centurion training, an Aboriginal traditions workshop, and an art and geography study of Winchester high street. These afternoons are powerful tools for delivering creative and memorable learning experiences.
