A beautiful, safe location
Described by many as a ‘home from home’, The Wilderness Centre has been successfully providing outdoor education with accommodation for schools and private groups for over 50 years. It has achieved the highest accolade of Gold Standard Centre by the ‘Association of Heads of Outdoors Education Centres’.
The Wilderness’ 30-acre site and Georgian country house have a timeless appeal to all ages. High on the hill there is a feeling of space, looking at the world from a vantage point. Yet it is a private site where comings and goings are easily monitored and group management is straightforward.
Please take a closer look at our facilities
Dedication to learning and growth
Everyone who works at The Wilderness understands that our purpose is to help people learn and grow so that they live happy and fulfilled lives. Outdoors education is the focus of what we do, both on-site and off-site. But we’re also keen to make the classroom experience valuable and stimulating, complimenting what is done outdoors.
We have a clear, forward looking ethos in how we approach learning and growth. Being outdoors has never been more important for people. While activities are at the heart of most of our programmes, we recognise that just being somewhere as beautiful as The Wilderness has huge benefits. The ability to run free in the woods and meadows is what many children remember of their visit here.
Our programmes are typically designed to achieve outcomes in the following areas:
Enjoyment
Confidence boosting
Social and environmental awareness
Specific activity skills
Communication, problem solving and teamwork
Leadership and resilience
Motivation to learn and growth mindset
We are members of the Association for Character Education, following closely the latest research in this growing field and, where appropriate, applying development to our programmes. Our staff follow the ‘challenge by choice’ principle, supporting individuals uniquely to make choices about how they learn and about being at edge of their comfort zone.
Inclusivity
The team at The Wilderness is committed to providing a valuable experience to everyone who visits us. We are used to working with children and young people with a wide range of backgrounds, preferences and abilities. We pride ourselves on being respectful, flexible and adaptive.
We will do all we can to meet the specific requirements of everyone in terms of the activity programme, accommodation and meals. Inclusivity is built into the planning of our programmes. Also, when programmes are running, we contunuely review how things are going to see if we need to improve anything.
A clear working relationship with The Wilderness
From the initial phone call through to reviewing the programme, The Wilderness team will work closely with you. We want to understand your goals, the approach you want to take and how we can work with you.
While you’re with us
As a teacher, let us know what’s going to work for you during your visit in terms of supervising the students and being involved in activities. Our team will be very clear about who is in charge of the group at the different times during the day so that you will be able to step back from activities. It helps if you let us know about any particular needs of students on the day. While most of what we do isn’t weather dependant, extreme conditions can cause a change in programme. With this in mind, we ask you to be flexible.
Preparing for your visit
We often meet people who came to The Wilderness as children, often 10 or 20 years ago. It’s extraordinary how much they remember of their stay.
They can remember the activities they did and the rooms they stayed in. They also remember the feeling of freedom compared to school. They say the teachers seemed so relaxed. We think it’s important to keep personal stories in mind when children come up the drive to the house. They will remember what happens here. For many of them it’s something of a rite of passage whre they’ll experience a little more independence. We’ll do all we can to allow this to happen.
The Head of Centre and Operations Manager are very happy to come to schools and do a presentation to parents that helps preparation for the visit.
Checklist
Check The Wilderness has all the information asked for about your group. Depending on what your programme involves i.e. dietary, medical
Check that the group is sufficiently equipped for the time of year and, if it’s in the programme, nights away from home. We’re on the top of a hill, which can be cold and windy.