Philosophy
We believe that the outdoor adventure environment and the residential experience, especially in a setting as beautiful as Thurston, provide the most powerful framework for developing young people, particularly in the following areas:
- Personal growth and understanding
- Social awareness and skills
- Knowledge and awareness of the environment
- Spiritual and aesthetic awareness of ‘place’, nature, and beauty
A course at the centre is, therefore, an ideal way to enhance your students’ motivation, self-confidence, self-esteem and self-concept. It can be used to develop the skills of:
- Decision-making
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Leadership
- Problem solving
- Independent thought
- Time management
- Goal/target setting
- Prioritising
- Self-evaluation and review
- Negotiation and compromise
- Communal living
It will allow students to develop, in a real setting, the concepts of freedom and responsibility, adventure, risk and safety, morality, awareness, trust, co-operation, nature, community and social interconnectedness.
We firmly believe these ideas to be at the heart of any good education in their own right as they help to develop independent, responsible, balanced and thinking individuals. However they also fit in with the National Curriculum by meeting many of the requirements of the non-statutory guidance for PSHE at any key stage (including covering virtually the whole breadth of suggested opportunities) and also greatly enhancing the delivery of the Citizenship Programmes of Study at KS 3 and 4.
