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It’s hard to believe that we are at the end of yet another academic year. Once again 2015-16 has been a very successful and busy year for Nant and Pentre.
Both centres have worked extremely hard to gain the AHOEC Gold Standard this year. This is not an easy hoop to jump through and we thank Jim Davy for collating and presenting most of the evidence . This award recognises the good work that we do and provides a quality assurance “badge” for schools looking for High Quality Outdoor Education experiences for their pupils.
We’ve been involved in some exciting new work this year in particular a “Parental engagement” project. This pilot study has seen staff from Nant BH working in local communities with pupils and parents . The aim has been to show people how best to use their local environments with their children . We have looked at aspects of Bushcraft, Orienteering and Scrambling . It is hoped that, based on the success of this project, other schools will adopt similar models in the future.
Nant BH has seen some major changes to its High Ropes courses that we look forward to using with Secondary school pupils in the new academic year. We recently used a visiting Teachers group as “Guinea Pigs” ( or pioneers !!) . I think it’s fair to say that the course provided ample challenge !
It’s been another rapid year for our apprentices at the centres . We say farewell to 3 out of the 4 trainees at the end of this term . Jessica Eatwell will remain at Nant for a second year and we will also be joined by 3 new keen trainees for September 2016.
The new academic year looks set to kick off with a bang. Birkenhead School have been using us for the last few years and they will once again be bringing a large group at the start of September – no time to ease ourselves into the new term ! We will once again be taking a 2 day staff training trip early in the term . This has proved to be useful to undertake essential training but also as an opportunity for all staff across both centres to socialise and meet anyone who is new to the team . This year the Instructional staff will be undertaking 2 days of Whitewater Safety and Rescue training ( updating for many staff) in Llandysul , South Wales .
2016 has been the “Year of Adventure” in Wales and coincidentally it is the 50th anniversary of the opening of Nant BH Centre . We will be holding a commemorative event on Saturday 8th October and everyone is welcome to attend.Full details will be posted on the website in early September but events on the day look set to include : Kids Trail races, Mountain biking events and demo rides, Pump Track, Slackline, Orienteering competitions, High Ropes course activities and zip wire. Not, of course , forgetting some great food to keep you going through the day . Proceedings will start at 10am and run through until about 4pm . It would be great to see as many current and past users of the service ( along with staff ) as possible . So, put the date in your diaries and pop along to see us in October !
I hope that you all have an enjoyable summer holiday and we look forward to seeing you at one of the centres soon
Chris Near ( Deputy Head , Nant BH )
