How Melbourne private schools are using outdoor education programs to push students
From hiking and canoeing to rafting and even skiing, private school kids are taking part in intensive outdoor education programs that strip them of technology while encouraging them to explore their “identity”. See the most challenging.
Elite Melbourne private schools are known for pushing students all in the name of a great education and their camps are no different.
From technology bans to solo camping, here are some of the most challenging outdoor programs across the state.
Brighton Grammar School’s Great South West Journey
Brighton Grammar School runs a 12-day outdoor education program for year 9 students. The camp, dubbed the Great South West Journey, is held across multiple national parks in Victoria’s west. Students are expected to participate in a range of activities such as camping, bushwalking, canoeing and mountain biking while “embracing discomfort” and “forging connections”. “The itinerary has been deliberately designed to provide a physical and mental challenge,” the school website read. “It will be imperative that the boys quickly bond and work as a team over the long days. “This will be achieved with the assistance of two experienced group leaders, who will travel with the group and provide structure and guidance when necessary, but step back to create space for the boys to step up and lead when the opportunity arises.”
Lauriston Girls’ School’s Howqua Program
Lauriston Girls’ School holds a compulsory 12-month program which is the only pathway into year 9 at the college. The Howqua Program is based off campus in Victoria’s high country. It runs in five-week blocks with students taking regular classes in mathematics, science, humanities, English, Mandarin and French while returning home for long weekends and school holidays. The program is described as being “ideal for fostering personal growth, a sense of self-worth and self-confidence.” “During the year, students go on several interdisciplinary excursions such as the regional tour of northeastern Victoria, exploring the area’s history, art and geology,” the school said. “(The camp is) experientially based and purposefully cadenced to build and reinforce each girl’s skills and independence and provide time for exploration and reflection.”
Melbourne Grammar School’s Beyond the Gates
Melbourne Grammar School describes their camp as one of the school’s “most challenging outdoor education programs”. The program, known as Beyond the Gates, runs over the course of three weeks from the gates of the school to the mainland of Mt Kosciuszko. Students undertake intensive hiking, cycling and rafting legs that encourages students to “push themselves” to “develop their skills further”. “Ideas of journey and discovery are central to the program, and participants are encouraged to think carefully about identity and spirit,” the school said. During the program, the students undertake a solo experience where they spend up to 24 hours by themselves. Group leaders and peers are within range but the task is designed to allow each student to self-reflect.
Geelong Grammar School’s Timbertop Campus
Geelong Grammar School hosts a boarding program for year 9 students at their Timbertop Campus in Victoria’s northeast. The program runs across the entire academic year with five days in the classroom. Students spend weekends participating in “challenging” outdoor programs, co-curricular activities and community service. There is no access to televisions, mobile phones, social media and computers. “Computer literacy is essential in this digital age, but technology cannot speak as powerfully as companionship,” the school said. “In keeping with the Timbertop ethos, electronic screen entertainment is not permitted.” Students are expected to participate in hiking, skiing, camping, canoeing and rafting. The nearest public road is more than two kilometres from the main living and teaching areas. Cars and the general public cannot be seen from the campus.
Methodist Ladies’ College’s MLC Marshmead
Methodist Ladies’ College hosts an eight-week camp for year 9 students. The education program is located at Croajingolong National Park in East Gippsland. “While staying at MLC Marshmead, students encounter relevant, practical learning and gain life skills such as independence and self-reliance, as well as an approach to sustainable living that is directly transferable to their urban lives,” the school said. “Students manage their own cooking, cleaning, heating and cooling within nine self-contained student houses, each featuring comfortable bedrooms, living area, kitchen, bathroom and solar hot water unit.” The program is not compulsory with some year 9 students remaining in Melbourne and following an alternative curriculum program.
Scotch College’s Outdoor Education
Scotch College offers several outdoor education programs across Victoria including Cowes and Healesville. Year 7 students travel to Phillip Island whereas year 9 students head to the banks of the Chum Creek. In 2028, the school will launch a term-long residential program for year 9 students at Fairhaven in Mallacoota. Students are set to learn practical skills including farming and sustainability. Scotch College principal Dr Scott Marsh said students will be “challenged”. “The purchase of Fairhaven represents our desire to focus further on forming the character of our boys,” he said. “At Fairhaven, boys will be challenged in the great outdoors, they will learn about farming and land management, conservation and sustainability, bushcraft, and a host of other new skills. “Most importantly, they will be inspired to think about life, the type of man they wish to become, and how they might best use their many talents and gifts to serve others.”
Korowa Anglican Girls’ School’s Trek
Korowa Anglican Girls’ School hosts a four-week “wilderness expedition” for year 9 students. Known as the Trek, students venture by foot, bike and raft from the Australian Alps to Ninety Mile Beach. The program takes place in term four and has been running for more than 30 years. “The primary objective of the Trek program is to challenge students physically, emotionally and intellectually promoting personal growth,” the school said. “By navigating the wilderness, students learn self-sufficiency, leadership and teamwork.” During the program, students embark on a two-night solo experience where they keep a diary to document their “thoughts, reflections and personal growth”.
Ballarat Clarendon College’s Residential Program
Ballarat Clarendon College hosts year 9 students at the school’s residential program in Yuulong located in Victoria’s southwest. Students reside in dorms over eight weeks and “learn and apply physical, practical and outdoor knowledge and skills”. “These are often challenging, and deliberately so,” the school said. “Learning contexts reach beyond the classroom to their dorms, their community and the environment. The solo experiences, hiking expeditions, surfing and community activities all contribute to the rich learning context offered by the program.”
St Michael’s Grammar School’s Kosciuszko to the Coast Expedition
St Michael’s Grammar School students participate in compulsory outdoor education from years 3 to 11. During year 11, students embark on a three-week Kosciuszko to the Coast expedition, involving a multi-day trek, rafting and canoeing experience. The school said the activities were “made to advance physical endurance, leadership under pressure and collaborative problem-solving in extreme outdoor conditions”. “It blends the tangible challenges of navigation and physical exertion with intangible rewards of risk-taking, anticipation, confidence, and exhilaration,” the website reads. “Since (the camp’s) inaugural journey in 1991, it has embodied the essence of outdoor education, demanding strong skills in organisation.”
Haileybury College’s Expedition and International Camps
Haileybury College runs a two-week pre-senior expedition program for year 9 students at both interstate and overseas destinations. Locations include Cambodia, Timor-Leste, and outback Australia. “These experiences are designed to ‘burst the bubble’ of familiarity and encourage students to develop skills that they would not usually acquire in the classroom or at home,” the school said. “Students (are encouraged to) broaden their horizons and build independence and maturity.” The college also runs an international program for two year 12 students who are selected to spend a month in the English countryside.
Originally published as How Melbourne private schools are using outdoor education programs to push students
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