For a London school, St Paul’s has developed a fantastic adventure sports programme over the last decade, led by a very enthusiastic and highly-accomplished group of staff.
Firm believers in the physical, mental and well-being benefits of adventure sports and wilderness experiences, we have run a wide variety of trips all over the UK and all over the world, often with SPGS, featuring a wide range of adventure sports:
Bouldering in Fontainebleau Forest, mountain biking in Snowdonia, ice climbing in Scotland, alpinism, multi-pitch sport climbing, via ferrata and white-water rafting in the Écrins in France, ski-touring in France, Canada and Japan, skiing in alpine resorts, snow-shoeing in Norway, sky-diving, adventure travel to Borneo and Costa Rica, slacklining on site and micro-adventures in Epping forest.
The aim of these experiences is to inspire and educate pupils in environments outside our London comfort zone. Recently, we introduced a focus on sustainability, which has determined trip planning – for example, prioritising foot-power in the mountains: ski touring instead of using ski lifts. It is vital that St Paul’s’ pupils develop an acute environmental awareness, and we emphasise the role that adventure sports can play in that.
We are able to attract some fantastic speakers – we have had Alex Honnold, Kenton Cool, Sandy Allan and Jerry Gore at the school in recent years.
We also run avalanche awareness courses, act as advisors to the pupils, staff and parents, and have a wide range of specialist and well-maintained equipment that is available for borrowing by pupils and staff.