Escot Camp is the perfect place to bring your students on an outdoor learning residential programme. We tailor make your curriculum to suit your class, and ensure that students enjoy learning in a safe, fun and adventurous environment. Below you will find information on our curriculum, areas of study, accommodation and health and safety.
All our areas of study are taught in a hands on thematic manner. This allows students, no matter what their level at school, to get the most out of their outdoor learning experience. We explore Escot and its beautiful grounds, and delve deep in to the natural world. Any of our activities can be used to fill national curriculum requirements.
We offer multiple activities which will help students learn how to work as a team, solve problems and enjoy each other’s company. We use giant jigsaws, giant skis, scavenger hunts, imaginative scenarios and games to help students better understand the meaning and importance of team work.
This area of study may include some of the following activities: feed the Wild Boar, visit the Red Squirrels, help prepare and watch an Otter feed with the ranger. We play games to teach about adaptations, go on an”each one teach one” student led hike in the woodlands. We also watch a falconry display, go on a nature hike in beautiful Rowden End, facilitate a woodland ecosystem skit activity and make giant nature collages.
Using games and hands on activities, like the “Incredible Journey” we teach students all about the water cycle. We go stream dipping to find macro invertebrates, and using microscopic bug boxes, make observations, draw sketches and using dichotomous keys, identify our findings and add them to an important Escot Biotic Index. We do a group watershed puzzle exercise which allows students to understand the importance of taking care of the water in their own school and home communities.
This topic allows students to delve in to the past and enjoy activities focused around the time of the Anglo Saxons. Activities may include: Wattle and Daub, lighting fires, making pennies, bread making, spoon making, forging, milling, pole lathing, splitting logs and dressing up.
The activities available in this subject provide students with an insight in to survival in the wild. Activities may include: Fire making, shelter building, campfire cooking, whittling, tool care and tool use, swamp walk.
This activity is part of the Forest School Activities area of study but can be run separately if you wish. Please make a note on your booking form if you wish to do a swamp walk but do not wish to choose forest school activities.
The swamp walk is a 100-metre meander in bare feet through the mire. It is cold, smelly, seriously manky and about 2 feet deep in places finishing with a wash in a pond. It is quite a serious challenge for some and is universally remembered as the best part of the day. There is nothing like getting into it to remember what it’s all about!! (30-45 mins dependent on group size) wear shorts and bring spare clothes and a plastic bag to carry the dirty set home in.
Wild Night in the woods is a one night residential programme focused on forest school activities which takes in the woods at Rowden End on the Escot estate. Children make shelters to sleep in, cook over an open fire and enjoy activities such as environmental arts, greenwood crafts (whittling), archery, storytelling and campfire cooking.
If you wish to choose wild night in the woods as one of your options, please make a note on your booking form.
Camp Wild is based at Yurt Village at Escot and can accommodate up to 56 children and 10 staff per week. The village comes complete with 5 sleeping yurts, 2 for boys, 2 for girls and 1 for staff. There is also a bunk bed in the main 28ft yurt for staff who wish to sleep in this area. All the sleeping yurts have emergency exit doors, which remain unlocked at all times, with yale locks only accessible from the interior. Children must enter the main 28ft activity yurt from their sleeping pods to access the main door leading outside. The site has powerful hot showers and flushing toilets which are all gender specific. There is a fully equipped kitchen, campfire pit and barbecue facilities.
Our schools programme connects children with the natural world using unique thematic hands-on curriculum which ties in to key stage 2 and 3 national curriculum. At Camp Wild your students will discover a learning experience that can’t be found in textbooks. They will learn science, strengthen community spirit through team challenges, and deepen their connection to the natural world through guided, hands-on exploration of ponds and streams, organic gardening, living history and terrestrial plants and animals. At Camp Wild we can create a programme designed especially for your class. Our programmes place students in small field study groups to ensure plenty of personal attention as they explore the surrounding natural world.
Our Lead Instructors can plan your programme with your chosen areas of study and academic outcomes in mind. Our student-centred approach allows us to connect the learning that happens at Escot back to your classroom and the student’s home communities.
We offer exciting evening programmes for you to choose from, including bat detecting or astronomy night hikes, or a campfire with songs and skits.
Please see our areas of study below.
We have completed risk assessments for all our activities and can email them to you at your request. All our staff are CRB checked, and we are registered with Ofsted.
We had a professional fire risk assessment completed at Camp Wild in the spring of 2010 and have over 7 fire extinguishers present on site. All our yurts are fire proof and we have valid certification for this.
The general public are not allowed on to the Camp Wild and we have signs clearly stating this at the 2 gateways leading in to the site.
Camp Wild staff will supervise students between 9am-4pm daily, then again during the evening programme. A Camp Wild cook will serve breakfast and dinner however we encourage the children to assist with clean up of all meals. This can be done by school teachers assigning different groups to certain meal times.
Free time is between the hours of 4pm and 7pm, with dinner being served at approximately 5.30pm. During this time child supervision is the responsibility of the school teachers. The overnight supervision starts after the evening programme at approximately 8-8.30pm and again it is the responsibility of the school teachers to watch the children during this time.
During the day time, school teachers are free to come and go from the group as long as we always have one teacher with each of our groups.