Friends of The Scotsman Between a rock

The great classroom of the outdoors prepares youngsters for the workplace and for life’s challenges, says Martin Davidson

NORTH Lanarkshire was once a thriving industrial region, but the decline of mining and other heavy industry meant that the area has struggled economically and socially. Opportunities for young people were limited and over time this led to widespread apathy and low aspirations among many of the underprivileged young people in the area.

The situation was worrying, but North Lanarkshire Council’s education department was not prepared to let the situation worsen. So in 1997, the department launched a series of initiatives aimed at improving the prospects of young people, thereby hoping to pave the way for a brighter future. One of the most successful of these initiatives was a partnership with The Outward Bound Trust, which has now been running for 17 years. The partnership began when the council approached the trust to work together to design a residential programme for young people in S4. Timed in this way, it forms a vital link in the pupils’ preparation for the workplace or further education.

Every year, in the cold winter months from November to January, all 26 secondary schools in North Lanarkshire as well as 4 SEN schools, send 25 per cent of S4 pupils on a five-day outdoor adventure course at the Trust’s Loch Eil Centre in the Scottish Highlands. The figures are significant – with around 850 pupils per year taking part, more than 15,000 young people have benefited since the programme’s inception.

The target group for this particular programme is what might be termed the “forgotten middle”, that is those pupils identified as having unrealised potential, who need to move forward, to get help with confidence and to raise their aspirations, so they may find a way to do their best and improve their performance at school.

Many other initiatives are aimed at either high achievers or those living in the most desperate economic and social circumstances, so those in the middle were often left out. This programme aims to redress the balance by focusing on precisely these “middle” young people. It is a move typical of North Lanarkshire, which has long been at the forefront when it comes to trying out new learning experiences.

A key example of the strength of the partnership is the way it is funded, with 55 per cent of the necessary funds being provided by the council, and the Outward Bound Trust providing the remaining 45 per cent. From the outset, both design and delivery have been planned and carried out jointly. Teachers are prepared for the course by the local authority and they work alongside the Trust’s expert instructors when in the wild outdoors with the participants.

The five-day course, which involves encountering new situations and people in a series of team and individual challenges, is demanding, exhausting even, but highly satisfying for its participants. It includes such activities as a full day hill walk, team dynamic work whilst rock climbing and self-awareness and team work development through high rope challenges. As Jordan, aged 15, from Calderhead High School says: “I have experienced a lot of scary activities and it helped me do things I never believed I could.”

Learning through outdoor adventure is only part of the story though. The aim is to improve not only confidence and self-esteem but recognise achievement as well. The programme incorporates the Adventure and Challenge Award, credit rated on the Scottish