Team work makes the dream work at Rhunahaorine outdoor school

Scout leaders encourage pupils to communicate

Rhunahaorine Primary School pupils have received a lesson on the benefits of teamwork thanks to a pair of Scout leaders.

As part of Argyll and Bute Council’s education policy encouraging outdoor learning, Len Wallace and Jim Smith from Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead recently led pupils on a fun-packed two days.

Rhunahaorine’s outdoor learning pod, which arrived the previous night, was put to good use as the rain came down just as the pupils were put to task.

Children mapped out the playground, made maps and navigated to different areas.

Team-building tasks initially proved challenging, perhaps with too many wanting to do things their own way or take charge.

But this was overcome in the

gutter pipe challenge when the children eventually worked together to roll a tennis ball down each piece of guttering, taking it to the other side of the playground.

The next day Len and Jim joined the pupils on their weekly outing to a nearby forest.

A highlight of the day was when all the children’s school bags made it safely across a river using a homemade pulley system.

The school is planning on building on these skills and the children hope to devise their own pulley system on their next trip to the forest.

The last team task involved constructing a den from natural materials, large enough to fit two pupils inside.

The children worked together to make a construction big enough for all 10 of them to fit inside. The den was covered with rhododendron leaves to keep out rain and had a flooring of moss for comfort.

During the end-of-the-day reflection, pupil Lochlen Gibbs said he wished Len and Jim could come back another day.

Len said he felt the children’s team-building had improved from the day before, as they were communicating much more with each other during their final task.

Head teacher Catriona Brown commented on the professionalism of the Scouts, from the pre-visit correspondence and preparations to their interactions with the children.

She added: ‘This was an innovative decision by the education department to inspire quality outdoor learning.’

Rhunahaorine Primary School’s new outdoor learning pod, built by Auchencorvie Sawmill, was paid for with Pupil Equity Funding from the Scottish Government and has received a thumbs up from the pupils.

The pupils mapped out the playground in Rhunahaorine’s new outdoor learning pod.

The school’s outdoor learning pod, which arrived the previous night, was put to good use during the Scout visit.

The pupils built a shelter big enough for them all to fit inside.

A highlight for pupils was transporting their school bags across a river using a homemade pulley system.