Whiteworks Maintenance and Bike Skills

Today Mr Jackson and I spent the majority of the day at Whiteworks, our Outdoor Activity centre in the heart of Dartmoor National Park carrying out some general maintenance and putting together three new bunk beds. With the addition of the new bunks it means we can comfortably accommodate 24 people at the centre with an additional 2 beds for staff. The centre is our moorland base for outdoor activities as well as being available to hire for external users.
We made our way back to Plymouth College for 3.30 so I could deliver an after school outdoor activities club. Todays activity was generic bike skills, this took place on the school astroturf and put the students to the test through a series of activities. The students were tested on their balance skills both stationary and in motion, lifting the front wheel and rear wheels off the ground and various slalom courses.


Mr Brice
Assistant Head of Outdoor Education

Mountain Biking on Dartmoor

Today we offered Mountain Biking to the Boarding Students. Unfortunately due to other commitments only two students could attend, David and Scott. Even with the Low numbers, Mr Brice chose to go ahead as the weather on the moor was beautiful. We started our ride from the college activity centre at Whiteworks and our route took us via Nun's cross, Sheepstor, Burator reservoir and crazywell pool area.
The ride included some moderately technical ups and downs and some sections on the road. Overall the weather made for a fantastic day out and both of the students thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

D.Brice
Assistant Head of Outdoor Education

Bronze D of E Nav Training

This afternoon 5 teams of Bronze D of E students were out practicing their navigation techniques along the coast. We were lucky enough to sea a warship coming in surrounded by a number of helicopters. All the groups and staff had nice time out and about and we will be out again doing different routes next week.

G. Starks (Head of Outdoor Education)

Indoor Climbing at Dart Rock

This Wednesday afternoon, the normal climbing lot boarded the fun bus to go to Dart Rock for the afternoon. We all had a quick warm up on the traversing wall before moving to the bouldering wall and trying some stupidly hard routes which, needless to say, we mostly fell off (excluding the likes of Alex of course!) Practising some technique in this section really did help when we came to climb the roped walls though, where even I managed to get to the top of a few! Meanwhile Alex and Toby were doing some crazy lead climbing, which after watching, Mr Starks somehow convinced me and Ed to have a go. He eased us in gently on some of the easiest routes (which still didn’t stop Ed from taking a pretty spectacular fall) to slowly build our confidence. It was still pretty nerve wracking though! After this we had a quick last go on the bouldering wall, where we tried some pretty easy routes, and mostly fell off, due to being pretty knackered by this point. So after a good 2 hours climbing we re-boarded the fun bus and headed back to school, tired but happy.

George Monk (Upper 6th)

Mountain Biking at Cwmcarn

On our final day of an adventure-packed half term, we decided to tackle the challenging off-road mountain bike circuit at Cwm Carn. Our tired legs struggled with the uphill through the woods and at times, frustration got the better of us as we all tried to keep up with Mr Starks and Mr Brice over the slippery rocks and roots! Finally, though, we reached the top and were rewarded with fantastic views over South Wales. And then – the downhill. An exhilarating start set the tone for the rest of the descent – deep puddles, tight turns and some mud thrown in for good measure. A cheeky bit of uphill in the middle nearly finished off some of the team, but then the final (and rather rapid) descent back to the start ensured that there were smiles all round. There was talk of going round again, but we’ll have to leave that for another time.

Coffee and cake at the café marked the end of the fantastic trip and we all headed home smiling, muddy and shattered.

A. Starling (Gold D of E Leader)

Coastal Walking

Today the team spilt with some making a longer walk along the Gower coast with others taking a shorter stroll out to Worm's Head before a evening Mountain Bike Ride.

Coasteering and Paddling

Today the team headed to Aberiddy on the Pembroke coast for a spot of Coasteering and 'Sit on Top' Kayaking. The two and a half hour drive from the Gower was well worth it as we were blessed with glorious weather, leaving the heavy rains to empty on the Gower for the day. Aberiddy is a stunning Coasteering venue.

After a quick stop for a brew most of the team took the 'sit on top' kayaks out for a paddle to the headland, into the lagoon and finished with a spot of surfing. Lots of smiles showed that a good time was had by all.

D.Brice  (Assistant Head of Outdoor Education)