Page 49 - Parents' Handbook - Sept 2021

Outdoor Education
We have over 90 acres of beautiful grounds and we enjoy plenty of woodland, a fishing lake and stunning views out over the rolling Worcestershire hills. Outdoor education is a vital part of what makes an Abberley education so special. Children in the Prep school enjoy a timetabled Outdoor Education lesson every week but they can also develop skills outdoors during the Evening Activity slots and during our Saturday Discover Programme.
The choice of options is extensive and ranges from shelter building, fire making and outdoor cooking, chicken keeping and horse riding to gardening, mountain biking, camping and hiking.
The Abberley Awards
Each year in the Prep school, children are given a set of challenges and experiences that we invite them
to try. As they ‘tick these off’ on a special record
chart they are given, they work towards achieving an Abberley Challenge Bronze, Silver and Gold award. The challenges are very broad and range from outdoor challenges such as lighting a fire without matches, catching a fish in the Inkpot and sleeping for a night in our Treehouse, through to things such as taking part in a play, learning a musical instrument and speaking in public.
The Abberley Awards are just another way that
we ensure the children experience as much breadth as possible and get as much as possible from what we offer.
GAMES
We do Games or Outdoor Education six days a week and the emphasis is very much on being part of the team and representing Abberley to the best of one’s ability. Everyone will represent the school several times a term and be proud to do so, whilst exceeding their expectations and supporting each other in this endeavour. Even those for whom sport does not come naturally learn during their time here to be resilient, that hard work and practice brings improvement, that success does not come without taking risks and that alone we can do so little, whilst together we can do
so much. This will be through playing hockey, rugby, football, netball, cricket, tennis, swimming, athletics, badminton, horse-riding, cross-country, and that’s not all!
Mrs Bennet-Tomlin is our Director of Sport and she will write to parents whenever necessary to ensure that you have all the information you need. If parents want to contact her then please do so by email emma.bennett-tomlin@abberleyhall.co.uk
GAMES CLOTHES
All games clothes should be marked clearly on the outside. Games clothes should normally be changed every week. Day children and part-time boarders
are asked to take dirty clothes home after sport on Saturday and bring a clean set into school on Monday morning. Clothes should be hung up in lockers and not left in bags. Clothes do occasionally go missing but they usually turn up again quickly. If items do
go missing then parents should inform their son’s or daughter’s Form Tutor as soon as possible. As always, please name each item of clothing carefully!
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