Clifton College Website

Outdoor Education

Outdoor Education
Mr Gary Walker BEd (Hons)

“Allowing young people to manage real experiences and to learn through doing” (Commander G Murray Levick, The Public Schools Exploring Society, 1932). It has long been recognised that the outdoor environment provides many opportunities for learning. Many of the activities offered within Outdoor Education at Clifton College facilitate and develop teamwork, leadership, confidence and self esteem.

Bristol is uniquely situated to offer many outdoor activities, in fact it is probably the only city in the UK where you can rock climb within 10 minutes of the city centre! As well as the Avon Gorge (5 minutes from Clifton College) that offers ample rock climbing opportunities, we also have the Mendip Hills, the Brecon Beacons, the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley all of which offer rivers, cliffs and mountains for a variety of activities.

Mr Walker is a PE teacher and an Outdoor Education specialist. Having taught PE in Somerset and London for over 10 years he joined Clifton College in 2008 to run Outdoor Education. Mr Walker participates in various activities himself that include rock climbing, kayaking, mountaineering, mountain biking and snowboarding. He also enjoys overseas travel, to date he has journeyed through over 30 countries and has taken part in high altitude trips and expeditions in the Nepalese and Tibetan Himalayas, the Chilean, Argentinean and Peruvian Andes and the Alps.

Qualifications:

BEd (Hons) Physical Education
Bushcraft and Survival Level 3 Instructor
Mountain Leader (MLTE)
Canoeing Instructor (BCU)
Alpine Ski Leader (Snowboarding)
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Supervisor and Assessor
Remote Expedition First Aid (Wilderness Medical Training)
Single Pitch Rock Climbing Instructor Training (MLTE)
Climbing Wall Rock Climbing Instructor Training (MLTE)
International Mountain Leader Summer Assessed (MLTE)
International Mountain Leader Winter Training (MLTE)
Mountain Bike Leader Training (SMBLA)

Overseas Expeditions:

Arctic Circle 2009
Borneo 2010
Ecuador 2011
Mont Blanc 2012 - coming soon

Other Activities:

Kayaking / Canoeing activities
Survival Skills courses
Bushcraft and Survival NCFE Level 2 course
Mountaineering
Rock Climbing activity
Rock Climbing Club and Competitions
Duke of Edinburgh's Award: Bronze
Duke of Edinburgh's Award: Gold

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