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Magdalen Court School
Victoria Park Road
Exeter
EX2 4NU

Tel: 01392-49 49 19
Fax: 0870-7051-321

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Magdalen Court School
Adventure

Adventure Programme

 

Well, where do we start? The school offers a plethora of Adventure Activities, as do many schools, but where I think we differ is in the inclusion of all pupils in all the activities we have to offer.

Here is a short video I produced for Google which will give you an isight of my Philosophy.

Lets have a look at a few examples, to give you an idea.

Skiing or 'Snow Sports' if you prefer:Magdalen Court School Skiing Alpe d'heuz

Many schools offer a skiing trip, usually biannually, often for yr 9 & 10 pupils & frequently to the same resort each year. The ski trip I think for any school is possibly the most amazing experience a pupil can have at school. The combination of breath taking mountain scenery, the excitement of flying, the fairy tale feeling that only a snow scape can offer, the physical & mental challenge of skiing in a hostile environment, of being terrified & laughing until you cry almost at the same moment, with your mates, being in a foreign country, being coached by local instructors, the bond you make with your school mates, teachers & ski instructors is just a combination for those who have not experienced it, just about unimaginable.

But I drift from my point, at Magdalen Court School our ski program/Outdoor Pursuits is different in a wide spectrum of ways.

  • We have a ski trip every year.
    The instructors at the resort frequently battle with each other to take MCS groups out, our pupils reach a very high level of competence, even our Magdalen Court School Skiing La Rosierebeginners on their first year skiing, will usually ski the whole mountain, black slopes & all.
    Look at our Dry Ski Slope program to find out how!
  • This is open to pupils from 10yrs to our 6th Form.
  • We try to ski a different resort & country each year, widening the cultural experience the ski trip offers.
  • We run a Dry-Ski slope program, this lasts the whole of the Michaelmas term.
    It starts with 5 or 6 weeks, every Thu. evening at Exeter & District Dry Ski Slope & then moves on to a similar duration at Plymouth Dry Ski slope, where we also take advantage of the restaurant on the slope side & the toboggan run, before finishing off with a day trip to one of the Snow Domes (skiing on real snow), just like our mountain resorts, we've been to many: Tamworth, Milton Keynes & the newest one in the UK, Hemel Hempstead.
    If you have never skied before, this will ensure when you hit the slopes in the mountain resort, you will miss out the nursery slopes & be straight up on the mountain, making the most of this fantastic holiday.
    Duke of Edinburgh Award; due to the extensive program we offer, many pupils choose to complete their Sport section through skiing.
    GCSE/A Level PE; pupils need to select 4 sports to be assessed for this GCSE, you have to be at a high standard in the sport to do well in this GCSE/A Level, but our extensive program & the fact that many pupils ski for 4 or 5 consecutive years with us, means they have always done very well with this.
  • Pupils often ski for many years with us, some as often as 5 or 6 consecutive years. I've been organising skiing trips for 30 years & skiing personallyMagdalen Court School Skiing Borovets for longer. I enjoy pushing myself hard, I'm not a recreational skier, it's an adventure sport to me, although most of our pupils are happy to be proficient, recreational skiers. I always hire a guide & take lessons, but I never cease to be amazed at the speed pupils develop in this sport. I started skiing at University & missed my 'Windows of Opportunity'. If you teach someone something at the right time, their rate of progress is phenomenal. It's the norm for students in yr11 who have been skiing with us for a number of years, to be skiing at a higher level than myself, some have gone on to become ski instructors, a lovely gap year job.

MCS Snow Sport web pages

 

Ten TorsMagdalen Court School Sunset on Dartmoor

Magdalen Court School runs a 'Ten Tors Club' it's open to pupils in the school & sometimes pupils/students outside of the school who want to take part in the magical event. The school follow the ethos of the event very closely, allowing any pupil between 14-20yrs to take part. Don't under estimate how much of a challenge the event is. 35m as a team of 6, navigating themselves successfully across the open moors of Dartmoor, unsupported, requires a lot of training. This is where MCS wins, many schools & clubs have a huge number of pupils who wish to take part & run a ruthless selection & training program to weed out those who are 'not-up-to-the-mark'. It's difficult to get more than 3 teams in the event from any one organisation & this would usually be a 35, 45 & 55 mile challenge team. Being such a 'human scale' school, getting a team up can be a challenge. However, our training starts young & we take them a step at a time towards fulfilling their goal of taking part & successfully completing in the Ten Tors Event.

 
  • School Orienteering Challenges, we run loads of these from as young as 7-8yrs old, building Magdalen Court School Ten Torsmap reading skills & a thrill of navigating through the beautiful Devon countryside. The school has set up a number of permanent courses at Lady's Mile Campsite, where we have our 'Junior Summer Camp', we also setup courses on our 'French Summer Camp' & make use of courses at the Riverside Park in Exeter, Killerton & Haldon Woods.
  • Exmoor Challenge, run by the Rotary Club of Exmoor, is for children 10yrs +, it's a tough 16 mile walk across Exmoor around Dulverton in teams of 4. The school plays a very active part in this competition each year.
  • Abbot's Way Walk, now we are getting tougher, a 21.5 mile walk across the roof of Dartmoor, from Buckfastleigh to Tavistock in October. Get this one under your belt & I know you can complete the Ten Tors event.
  • The Duke of Edinburgh Award, often students complete the expedition section of this after Ten Tors, but a few do it before & it offers a much more inclusive introduction to Walking Expeditions. Some of our pupils undertake their DofE expedition by cycle or Canoe.
  • Ten Tors Training, well this started back in our primary school with orienteering challenges, summer camps, Exmoor Challenge Event,Magdalen Court School Remote First Aid possibly the DofE & then the Abbot's Way Walk. But Ten Tors requires another level up & above any of these events & we complete a very extensive range of training events, from 'Night Navigation Walks' if you can navigate the open moor with the rain stinging your face, in pitch darkness, the mist swirling around your feet, you're ready for anything the Ten Tors event can throw at you. Our training is aimed at taking any pupil who is committed to complete the event with their 5 mates, to a point where they & I know they can do it & they do!

MCS has had teams in for the last 10 years, competing at all levels, 35,45 & 55 mile routes, often with 2 teams & always successfully completing the event. If you attend all our training events you too, can add Ten Tors to your CV of life experiences, you will never be the same again. The experience will be etched into your soul!

 

 

MCS Hill Walking Club web pages

 

 

When I have a free moment I'll tell you about our cycle trips, canoe club, Horse Riding club, The Duke of Edinburgh Award Club, Caving, Rock Climbing, our annual French Trip, Junior Summer Camp, Bushcraft, Sailing, Surfing the fun goes on & on.
We have a fantastic web Photo album, which has all our trips, photos & videos, the site is password protected to ensure only parents, relatives & our school children have access, if you pay us a visit ask for the password & take a look. Your photos will be up there soon too...

Magdalen Court School Exmoor ChallengeMagdalen Court School C2C walk

 

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  • Adventure Programme

 

Last Updated: Tuesday, 12-Feb-2019