Outdoor Education
Developing Character and Resilience
Growing Outdoors
From Years 4 to 10, the Outdoor Education program aligns with the School’s Phases of Learning, matching the age and stages of development with appropriate experiences to challenge students. Initiative, self-reliance, leadership, teamwork, responsibility, healthy risk-taking, communal living and environmental care are all introduced and developed through the program.
Discovering the World
Preparatory School
Kooringal, ‘Place by the Water’, is the School’s purpose-built Outdoor Education facility near Dwellingup and is the home for outdoor experiences from Years 4 to 10.
Discovering the World
Preparatory School
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Year 4 Introduction to Kooringal
Students are introduced to the Kooringal experience, providing a fun and collaborative opportunity to build new friendships through team-building activities.
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Year 5 Environmental Awareness
Students participate in a three-day, two-night program designed to connect them with nature, each other, and themselves. One night is spent in large tents near the main site, while engaging in activities such as swimming, flat-water rafting on the Murray River, camping, and bush shelter building. These hands-on experiences promote teamwork, resilience, and environmental awareness. Students begin to understand the connection between ecological and human wellbeing, explore the impact of human activity on the environment, and learn practical ways to minimise these effects through education, technology, and personal choices.
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Year 6 Developing Responsibility
This three-day camp focuses on cooperation, conservation, and adventure. Students explore the Jarrah forest, learning about local organisms and environmental challenges. A highlight is the Kooringal expedition, where they camp overnight and cook on a camping stove. Other activities include time at the Murray River and building wildlife habitats. Students take more responsibility by packing their own gear and making some program decisions. They also begin to assume small leadership roles and enjoy increased freedom within set boundaries, encouraging independence and active engagement in the outdoors.
Kooringal, ‘Place by the Water’, is the School’s purpose-built Outdoor Education facility near Dwellingup and is the home for outdoor experiences from Years 4 to 10.
Confidence, Leadership and Resilience
Senior School
Confidence, Leadership and Resilience
Senior School
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Year 7 Kooringal Transition Camp
The Year 7 camp runs over four days in House groups and includes bushwalking, environmental activities, orienteering, canoeing and abseiling. The activities and challenges are designed to build a strong awareness of self and living with others.
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Year 8 Cape to Cave
Year 8 students from Christ Church and St Hilda’s come together to participate in a combined outdoor experience in Western Australia’s iconic south-west. Together with a team of experienced outdoor educators, the students are guided through a five-day journey, which includes bushwalking, caving, abseiling and connecting with local people.
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Year 9 Kooringal Camp
Year 9 students experience nine days at Kooringal, taking on extensive challenges in expedition bushwalking, navigation, canoeing, a ropes course, rogaining, a solo experience and community service.
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Year 10 Venture
The Venture experience has been operating for more than 30 years and is the culmination of the Outdoor Education program and a rites of passage for Year 10 students. It is an 11-day journey through the bushland and coastal settings of D’Entrecasteaux and Walpole-Nornalup National Park and a culmination of the Christ Church Outdoor Education program.
