Pushing the Boundaries
Pushing the Boundaries, the School’s well-researched Outdoor Education program is designed to enrich student’s spirit, expand their capabilities and broaden the depth of their experiences within a natural environment. By ‘pushing the boundaries’ in ways they may never have thought possible, students develop personal attributes of grit, courage and determination and experience personal growth and development.
Outdoor Education is a fundamental, memorable and compulsory component to the St Peter’s College School experience. The program commences in Year 3 and culminates in the Year 10 21-day journey; frequently recounted by students as one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences of their SPSC journey.
Pushing the Boundaries is a sequential program that enables students to build a foundation in outdoor learning and year by year, grow in confidence and develop skills to thrive in a wilderness setting:
This first camping experience focuses on building new relationships, skills, knowledge and enjoyment in the outdoors. Activities include damper making, ‘nature detectives’, scavenger hunts, group initiatives challenges, as well as an introduction to personal reflection and immersion in nature.
Students explore the Coorong region to discover how the Ngarrindjeri People have thrived in this wilderness for over 5,000 years. Confidence and friendships are built through Indigenous art workshops, combing Ninety Mile Beach, and hunting for native herbs and pipi cockles.
This program provides students with an experience in authentic bush camping. Groups plan, build and maintain their campsite which serves as a base for their time together. From here, groups participate in outdoor, cultural and sustainability activities including raft making, fishing, mountain bike riding and a Big Duck Boat tour at Victor Harbor.
Outdoor activities include combing white sandy beaches, finding secret coves, exploring the Naracoorte caves, and venturing to extinct volcanoes and sinkholes. The experience offers a wide range of team-building activities and adventure challenges that are designed to foster resilience, advance problem-solving skills, learn to work as part of a team and develop an appreciation for the great outdoors.
Through an overnight lead-in program at Finniss students prepare for their first expedition at Mt Crawford Forest. Through hiking, kayaking, mountain bike riding, and cooking, students identify strengths in one another, to grow their positive and inclusive community. As the first expedition style camp, these five days in the Mount Lofty Ranges build a foundation for longer journeys in the years to come.
Students journey in small groups exploring wilderness areas of the Yorke Peninsula. White sand beaches, secluded coves and dramatic cliffs are the backdrop for cycle touring, fishing, snorkelling and hiking.
The Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park is the perfect venue for Year 9s to build confidence outdoors, navigating the tracks and trails in this dramatic landscape. Groups will summit peaks, descend into gorges, and ride alongside flowing rivers. They complete this venture being equipped both mentally and physically for their final Pushing the Boundaries journey, next year.
The Pushing the Boundaries Program culminates in a 21-day journey at the end of Semester 1. In small expedition groups, students complete an epic adventure through the ancient Flinders Ranges. Activities include abseiling, hiking, astronomy and mountain bike riding. During this milestone experience at St Peter’s College, students explore themes of identity, character, challenge, and experience a solo night in the wilderness.
Our Outdoor Education Programs strive to be exceptional and uncompromising in nurturing students who are well prepared to step into the world equipped to engage with truth, actively demonstrate respect, and to generously serve others. We aim to do this by:
Growing Character through Challenge
Growth of body, mind, and spirit through participation in challenge, exploration and community.
Developing Relationships and Community
Between each other, within our own school community and further afield. Fostering awareness and appreciation of Indigenous peoples and culture.
Cultivating Environmental Awareness
Through an appreciation of the beauty and wonder of the natural world. By exploration and appreciation of sustainable practices in the environment.
“The hardest moments of camp were also the highlights.”
- JACK, YEAR 10 STUDENT, POST 21 DAY JOURNEY
Exploration Society
As part of the society, students in Years 7 to 12 engage in outdoor activities with our Outdoor Education staff on weekends throughout the year and in school holidays. Exploration Society can be used as an opportunity to build confidence and skills to complement the Pushing the Boundaries Program, or as an opportunity to stretch and extend one’s knowledge and skills in the outdoors. Activities and expeditions include rock climbing, mountain bike riding, rafting, fishing and surfing.
Exploration Society
As part of the society, students in Years 7 to 12 engage in outdoor activities with our Outdoor Education staff on weekends throughout the year and in school holidays. Exploration Society can be used as an opportunity to build confidence and skills to complement the Pushing the Boundaries Program, or as an opportunity to stretch and extend one’s knowledge and skills in the outdoors. Activities and expeditions include rock climbing, mountain bike riding, rafting, fishing and surfing.
