Being adventurous implies a willingness to accept risks, therefore accepting a challenge and being prepared both to fail and to learn from misadventure. The adoption of this mind-set is one which the programme at BWS aims to encourage and share in promoting the following behaviours and characteristics;

• Show resilience and humour in the face of adversity
• Treat the environment, cultures and people with whom you operate with respect
• To recognise, address and manage risks
• Work with humility and be able to admit and correct our mistakes
• Develop empathy and the necessary attitude to work effectively in teams
• To build a solid, long lasting base of practical skills and apply them creatively in order to solve problems
• To understand and provide effective Leadership and Followership as the environment demands
• Utilise the adventurous skill set in order to approach every aspect of life with a ‘can-do’ attitude and proper confidence
• To enjoy our experiences and mindful that others have the same opportunity

Since the founding of BWS in 1890 there has been a ‘first year camp’, thus making this element of the Adventure programme one of the longest standing traditions in the school. Though the location has changed throughout the years, Great Yews has been our location for over 40 of them. We are hugely fortunate to have sole use of the wild camp, nestled within the Longford Estate, and have linked with Horatio’s Garden with a percentage of the trip cost donated to the charity – as opposed to a charge for the land use. This element of community is something we stress heavily within our programme and ensure it is tied inherently to the Adventurous Traits that we aspire to foster.

Plas Pencelli, situated a few miles south of Brecon commands a beautiful position on the hillside within Bannau Brycheiniog and has been a home from home for BWS students for decades now. Year 8 students are given two options for an Outdoor Activities residential trip – either the Spring or Summer term. Both options incorporate a 5 day programme of canoeing, climbing, mountain walking, caving and gorge walking. It is a hugely valuable opportunity to socialise beyond tutor and teaching groups in an environment that will consistently challenge the physical and mental resilience of every BWS student and forms a core memory of their time at school for all that take up the opportunity.

BWS is a licensed Duke of Edinburgh Centre and currently runs Bronze, Silver and Gold programmes for years 9, 10 and 12 respectively. We have a long running and successful partnership with Paul Webb and his company H5 Adventure for these programmes and benefit hugely from the expertise and experience that Paul and his team provide. The expeditions themselves take place with various routes within the settings of the Clarendon way for Bronze, The New Forest for Silver and finally the Brecon Beacons for the Gold award. All expeditions are supported by a team of staff from the school who also have ownership of the online and in-house logistical aspects. Paul and his team also deliver the Team Building event for each Year 7 cohort based at Britford lane.

BWS runs a hugely successful Ten Tors programme at both 35 and 45 Mile distances for year 10 and 12 cohorts respectively. The instruction team is a combination of school staff and parent volunteers, combining a wealth of civilian and military experience with Mountain Leader, Hill and Moorland Leader and Lowland Leader qualifications between them. Given the arduous nature of the challenge, this represents probably the toughest thread of adventure that BWS delivers directly with training expeditions on Dartmoor running between November and March in the build up to the event proper in May