History
The COUNTRYMAN magazine of Autumn 1964 contained an article entitled Schools from School. It discussed the value of taking young people from their own schools to undertake learning outdoors in an unfamiliar environment.
The article states Oxfordshire has been one of the more progressive authorities in this respect as it had been running courses in the Lake District since 1955.
Many of the comments in the article seem very familiar to us in our discussions today about the Every Child Matters agenda, the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto, and concerns about how to improve the health and well-being of children and young people.
50 Years Ago
The article concludes with these points
- it is not enough to fill a large country house with children unless there are adequate and specially trained staff, a well-considered programme and final objectives which inspire the pupils
- Oxfordshire has succeeded so far because of far-seeing directions implemented by a devoted and expert staff
In the 21st Century
Oxfordshire is proud of its long heritage of Learning Outdoors. We have maintained those high standards of the content and quality and continue to look forwards by adapting to the needs and demands of the 21st century but not compromising on expertise.
The County Council is one of the very few in the country which has retained 3 residential Outdoor Education Centres outside the county. Between them Kilvrough and Woodlands in Wales and Yenworthy in Devon offer 5,076 places during term-time for young people. They provide the opportunity to experience learning in countryside with mountains, cliffs and caves, none of which are available in our home county. Oxfordshire has also not lost sight of the need to have staff with expertise. Our Centres employ qualified teachers who also hold qualifications in adventurous activities and adapt their courses to meet the learning outcomes agreed with the groups own teachers or leaders.
Within the county we have another Centre at Hill End which offers residential and field study opportunities. In 2006-07 6,700 young people and adults visited from 82 Primary schools, 11 Secondaries, 27 Community or Faith groups and 7 Charity groups.
Partnerships
Oxfordshire also has a history of innovative partnerships with other organisations which support a wide range of activities. It has worked with ODSSA, the sailing association for young people, since the second phase of the Farmoor reservoir was completed in the 1970s.
The Environmental Education Centre at Sutton Courtenay was made possible by a partnership between the County Council, the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust ( BBOWT )and the power company running the Didcot Power Station, currently RWE Npower. The Centre celebrates 40 years in 2008, the last 8 in a building designed to demonstrate sustainable and environmentally friendly building techniques. It expects to have 5,000 visitors this year.
More recently in 2004 the County entered a partnership with Amey plc which has its headquarters in Oxfordshire and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. This has led to a 40% increase in the number of young people participating in the Award. This partnership is unique in the country and the Award has expressed an interest in making it a model for other Authorities to follow.
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