Bowles Rocks Trust

5-16+
Communication Skills, Confidence Building, Geography, Leadership
, PE, Problem Solving, Team Building
+3 more

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What will students see and do?

Bowles Outdoor Centre is an outdoor education charity and people’s development centre, established in 1964 with the Duke of Edinburgh as a royal patron. The centre is situated on a natural south-facing sandstone outcrop in a quiet valley near Tunbridge Wells.

Bowles Rocks Trust encourages learning through challenge and adventure. Visitors to the site can participate in rock climbing, abseiling, high ropes, low ropes, leaps of faith, Jacob’s ladder, skiing, snowboarding, sledging, kayaking, kayak rolling, raft building, swimming, problem-solving activities, orienteering and archery.

Climbing takes place on the site’s own sandstone cliff with over 300 climbing routes. Other facilities include dry ski slopes, an indoor heated swimming pool, various ropes courses, purpose-built team building facilities, an archery range and orienteering course. Bowles Outdoor Centre also has its own private lake and access to local rivers, plus its own woodland with permanent high-quality team building activities.

Equipment at Bowles Rocks Trust is maintained to the highest standards, including the fleet of Jackson kayaks designed specifically for children.

How does the trip link to the curriculum?

Bowles Outdoor Centre is passionate about the impact of outdoor learning on young people and helping young people to achieve their potential. It provides well-qualified staff guidance, high-quality facilities, fun activities and home-cooked food.

Most importantly, it supports thousands of young people from all backgrounds as they take part in outdoor education courses aimed at helping them develop self-confidence, resilience, improved physical and mental health, friendship and fun.

This development comes not just through the adventurous activities, but through learning to work as part of a team, communicating with others, assessing risks and making decisions for themselves.

Bowles Outdoor Centre’s small group sizes and staff continuity mean that it can focus on bringing out the best in every individual. In fact, many of the staff hold high-level qualifications that are above and beyond the minimum requirements that many centres have. They also take part in regular staff training and CPD events.

If you are unable to visit, Bowles Outdoor Centre’s in-school team can come to your school in the morning and set up a range of team building activities for the day. These will help your students achieve the mentioned skills and improvements without the need for travel.

Subjects covered

Communication Skills

Confidence Building

Geography

Leadership

Problem Solving

Team Building

Teaching resources provided

Bowles Outdoor Centre has put together a journal to accompany a residential stay at Bowles. It is intended to record and enhance the learning that takes place so that everyone back at home can see what they’ve been up to.

All activities have a page in the journal and there are subjects ranging from goal setting to comfort zones and teamwork.

There are also worksheets that you can download to help prepare your students for their visit to Bowles. They encourage the children to think about who they are, what skills they already have and what aims they might have for their visit. These worksheets can also be added to the journal.

Minimum and maximum group size

Bowles Outdoor Centre can accommodate a minimum of eight students and a maximum of 15.

If your numbers exceed 15, the group will be divided into two. These small group sizes mean that the staff can focus on bringing out the best in every young person.

Details of risk assessment

A risk management summary and a blank risk assessment are available to download from the Bowles Rocks Trust website.

PLANNING

Don't miss our downloadable A-Z guide on completing a risk assessment

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Facilities on-site

Bowles Outdoor Centre has an impressive lecture hall inspired by the Maria Zum Schnee chapel at the base of the Matterhorn in Switzerland.

The lodge can accommodate up to 32 people or the chalet building can accommodate up to 100. The residential facility has five meeting rooms and a dining area and indoor swimming pool.