Spring 2007
Spring Term 2007
Dear Parents,
We’d like to let you know about the outline plans for some trips over the next year or two. These all fall under the rather generic banner of ‘outdoor pursuits’ and include the Duke of Edinburgh Award trips. This is an area we are expanding in, with many more trips being organised than in the past, and we felt it would be helpful to give you an idea of what is coming up. Obviously full details will be presented via assemblies, tutors and meetings as appropriate as well as on the intranet. The further in advance the trip is, the less definite it is at this stage and all costings are approximate. However, the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme looks likely to follow a fixed pattern for the next few years, and the school summer camping trip in the first week of July has been a fixture for a very long time.
Information on trips, past and future, is kept on our intranet pages at http://www.stpaulsschool.org.uk/page.aspx?id=9272. Duke of Edinburgh information is at http://www.stpaulsschool.org.uk/page.aspx?id=11036. A copy of this letter will also be posted on the parents’ group pages.
To contact a member of staff use the email initials@stpaulsschool.org.uk
Summer 2007
June 15th -18th: Duke of Edinburgh Gold practice expedition (Brecon Beacons, for those already signed up to the award). Details from Mr Morland (TCIM)
June: Duke of Edinburgh Bronze practice and qualifying trips. Details from Dr Burnett (WJB) for those already signed up.
July 1st-8th: Hill walking in Scotland. Details from Dr Leversha (GL)
July/August: Tibet trip (full). Details from Mr Miller (GSM)
August 20th-25th: Duke of Edinburgh Gold qualifying expedition in Yorkshire. (TCIM)
Autumn 2007
October: Wilderness survival course in Slovenia – learn
to forage, track animals and build shelters (3 days). Mr Roberts (SJR).
October
15th-22nd: Geography trip to Morocco. Rev Hinton
(NKH)
October 21st-26th: Rock climbing in Spain (£600). Dr Zetie (KPZ)
December 13th-16th: Winter walking in the Lake District. Our annual walking trip to blow away the end of term cobwebs. (£100)(KPZ)
Spring 2008
February 10th-12th: Caving in the Peak District (£180)(KPZ)
April: Duke of Edinburgh Gold training
Summer 2008
June: Duke of Edinburgh Gold practice expedition (Brecon Beacons). Details from Mr Morland (TCIM)
June: Duke of Edinburgh Bronze practice and qualifying trips. Details from Dr Burnett (WJB).
July: Hill walking in the Lake District (camping trip).
July: Alpine mountaineering: learn the basics of glacier travel and climb Alpine peaks from mountain huts. (£800) (KPZ/GL)
Autumn 2008
October: Alpine Mountaineering – climb the Barre des Ecrins, a 4000m summit in the French Alps. (TCIM)
Duke of Edinburgh Schemes: Your son will be told about the Bronze award in the 5th form and the Gold award towards the end of the 6th form, with a reminder early in the L8th year. There is usually a lot of demand for these schemes and it is, therefore, vital to be quick off the mark signing up.
We would also be interested to hear your views on trips you’d like us to organise. We’ll be delighted to arrange trips if we think there will be enough interest from the boys. If you have any suggestions, please email or write to Dr Zetie. Recent trips have including walking and climbing in the French Alps, surfing in France, geography studies in Morocco, hiking in Snowdonia and marine biology (scuba diving) in the Indian Ocean.
Finally, you should not feel that your son is restricted to going on trips with the school. We try to provide opportunities to open students’ eyes to the possibilities and to provide training so that they could organise trips of their own. However, there are many outside agencies which do the same and we would feel confident recommending the courses and trips run by places such as Alpbase (www.alpbase.com), ISM (http://www.alpin-ism.com/index.cfm), Plas Y Brenin (http://www.pyb.co.uk/) and Adventureworks (http://www.adventureworks.co.uk/index.html?js=1).
Yours faithfully,
Ken Zetie
On behalf of the St Paul’s School Outdoor Pursuits team