Dolphin School's walking trip programme is unique. Our aim is to help the children gain a love of the outdoors and particularly hill walking. They learn to carry their own equipment in a rucksack, including a change of clothing, food, a survival bag, a first aid kit, a plaster/blister kit and waterproofs. They are taught how to pack a rucksack to protect the contents from the rain, how to lead the group over different types of terrain, how to read a map and compass and above all how to be safe on the mountain. The staff watch carefully how the children interact with each other.
The programme is carefully designed to allow the children to progress from relatively gentle day walks in the South Downs and the Black Mountains to the residential stays that include the more demanding routes in the Brecon Beacons, the Lake District, Snowdonia and ultimately the French Alps. These challenging walks are all the more achievable and enjoyable due to the trip progression that has been established. Each route has been fully reconnoitred and honed over the years to provide the perfect balance of enjoyment and challenge.
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The final walking trip takes the Year Eight children to the French Alps where they camp, cook, wash up and take turns to buy the group's breakfast themselves from the local
boulangerie, in French of course! One walk provides a chance to acclimatise to the altitude with a trek (over impacted snow) to a glacier. Another includes an overnight stay at a
refuge that is at twice the height of Snowdon! But the
pièce de résistance is the experiences on the many
via ferrata that enables the children to test their mettle as they ascend vertical cliff faces with specialist equipment or hang upside down over raging torrents. They return home for their leavers' night as young men and women.
Almost all costs associated with our walking trip programme are included in the fees.