By Sabine Hutcheson, Director of Marketing & Head of Secondary Admissions at Geneva English School
What is Outdoor Education?
The term Outdoor Education encompasses a broad range of activities, topics and skills. From learning about nature, to planning and taking part in an expedition in the mountains, it is an opportunity to get young people away from their phones and laptops and out into the great outdoors.
How does it fit into a school's curriculum?
For decades in the UK, teachers have been trained to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh Award in Secondary schools. The programme consists of a series of challenges that lead to three levels of certification for young people between the ages of 14 and 18: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Challenges range from setting up camp to planning and leading expeditions, increasing in duration and difficulty.
Local schools such as Geneva English School offer a broader range of opportunities leading to the Duke of Edinburgh Award to ensure students of all ages, starting with Early Years and Primary, experience life outdoors and develop essential life skills, including problem-solving, working as a team, resilience and managing stressful situations. Physical activity outdoors helps the mind focus on the here and now, which ultimately contributes to greater focus and discipline both in and out of school.
By Philippa Dobree-Carey, From High School to Uni
- Travel and culture experiences
- Volunteer work for a cause they’re passionate about
- Developing new skills, languages or hobbies
Young adults can build confidence and real-world experience that will be invaluable in the future workplace and give them a sense of renewed focus and motivation.
- Apprenticeships offer a dynamic alternative to traditional education:
- Practical, hands-on training and earning a wage while you learn
- Recognized qualifications
- Immediate industry connections
By Philippa Dobree-Carey, From High School to Uni
By Philippa Dobree-Carey, From High School to Uni
- Spread out revision of each subject over 5-10 days.
- Create a study plan (days 1-7). Plan daily reviews with a mix of broad overviews, deep dives into complex topics, and revisiting older material. Here's a sample schedule:
Day 1-2: Big picture review, identify the areas that need more attention.
Day 3-4: Tackle the more complex topics, using active recall methods.
Day 5-6: Review both new and older material to maintain memory retention.
Day 7: Focus on areas of difficulty, refining understanding with active recall. - Organise revision sessions into manageable chunks to improve retention. Use spaced repetition (reviewing at increasing intervals) and active recall (testing yourself) techniques, such as:
— Write down questions from your notes or textbook and answer them without referring to the source.
— Practice explaining concepts: Imagine you're teaching the material to someone else and explain it out loud or write down a clear explanation.
— Make flashcards with key terms on one side and definitions or explanations on the other. Have the student test themself or have someone them while having breakfast, going to school in the car, travelling on the bus or train, or during break-times. - Practice test-taking techniques on past papers under timed conditions to help develop a time management strategy for the actual exam.
- To avoid burnout or being overwhelmed, it is important to balance study time with downtime.
In the final year of high school, it's imperative for students in Year 13 (or equivalent) to devote a significant amount of time to their studies, and structuring a study schedule that includes both coursework and dedicated revision periods is essential.
Crafting Your Revision Schedule
Students need to ensure that their revision periods consist of reviewing known material and should not be learning new content at this point, which could indicate a gap in their knowledge base.
Studying without Distractions
Developing a distraction-free study routine is crucial to success.
Revision Schedule (with short regular breaks for food and downtime)
— Monday to Friday: 6pm - 9pm
— Weekends: 10am - 4pm
Coursework Deadlines
Students should divide their tasks into different categories and allocate time accordingly — List of subjects and their associated submission dates
— Allocation of extra time slots one month prior to deadlines
Latest news
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8