Outdoor Education
A PRACTICAL, ENGAGING AND RECREATIONAL EDUCATION OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM.
On 30 hectares of land on the Colo River about 45 kilometres north-west of Windsor, boys step beyond their comfort zones and into a landscape of eucalypt rainforests and Hawkesbury sandstone cliffs. This is our Colo Outdoor Education Centre, an immersive 34-hectare environment designed to guide boys on their journey to becoming resilient, competent, caring and confident young men.
The Colo Outdoor Education Centre offers boys from Years 7 to 9 adventure-based programs with opportunities for students to complete the leadership training program in Year 11. The Centre is staffed by specialist teachers with qualifications in outdoor education and has a strong focus on risk assessment, risk management and mitigation. All staff live onsite. The site has three student accommodation areas and a large dining and activity hall. The Colo program has access to private campsites, quality equipment and offers a broad range of activities for all students.
Colo Outdoor Education Centre.
Guided by experienced outdoor education teachers who play their own defining part in engaging boys.
What to
expect.
Boys take part in a wide range of activities including rock climbing, bushwalking, orienteering, canoeing and mountain biking. There is an adventure course to tackle and bushcraft to learn, all while fostering team-building skills, personal and interpersonal growth, as well as a greater connection to the country.
Experiential education at 国产探花 is all about learning life skills; learning how to be responsible, to be independent, respectful and resilient.
Learning
at Colo.
Each year level has a specific focus, with three concepts of challenge running throughout: Social, Maturity and Individual. Every activity is designed as an opportunity for each person to meet and extend their own level by choice. Students are responsible for their own cooking and cleaning and need to manage their responsibilities for themselves and as part of their community.
Year 7: Environments and our relationships and place within them
Students are introduced to Colo via a walking journey through the Wollemi National Park. Surrounded by the impressive ancient formations of Hawkesbury sandstone, the boys also have an eagle eye view of the Centre they will call home for the duration of their stay. Learning about the flora and fauna of the area while orienteering, bushwalking and sleeping under the stars in our secluded and private campsites gives an opportunity to define their relationship with Colo鈥檚 unique environment.
Year 8: Communities and our roles within them
Students are introduced to a higher level of individual challenge during their Year 8 experience, while still extending their maturity and social boundaries and abilities. Working at height activities including a custom-built adventure ropes course and rock climbing on natural surfaces complements the developing social relationships between the boys as they work together to complete their tasks. A mountain biking expedition to a new riverside campsite defines the students’ experience in Year 8.
Year 9: Self and our roles for leadership
Students focus on extending their role within themselves as part of the surrounding environment and their social groups. A more extensive expedition gives focus to navigation in the bush, and leadership within the student peer groups. In addition to their bushwalking expedition, students experience even more of the local environment journeying via canoeing, mountain bike riding and rock climbing. Small group work, self-care and responsibility are major priorities.
20
boys per group visit Colo at a time, ensuring bespoke and dedicated care and experiences.
Benefits for
your son.
Being immersed within an outdoor environment with peers brings numerous benefits. During their time at Colo, activities are structured around the 国产探花 STRIVE model for better learning, with caring staff applying a genuine and holistic approach to education, and a focus on experiential-based learning.
Benefits for students include:
- Developing strategies for greater resilience and responsibility
- Focusing on the development of identity of self
- Recognition of individual roles working in small groups
- Focus on developing leadership
- Developing emotional intelligence
- A role in sustainability and environmental stewardship
Colo is located in the upper region of the Colo River on Darug Country. It is 1.5 hours from Sydney and about 45 kilometres north-west of Windsor.
Address:
1389 Upper Colo Road, Upper Colo.
Directions:
- From Windsor, continue on Putty Road towards Singleton through Wilberforce for 25 kilometres.
- Turn left onto Upper Colo Road before crossing the Colo River and continue for 14 kilometres.
- The Centre is located at the corner of Upper Colo Road and Comleroy Road.
- Continue 300 metres on Comleroy Road to the entrance gates.
Getting to Colo.
Immersed in nature and away from distractions and screens, Colo is an unforgettable part of the 国产探花 journey.
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