Schools

We are a popular destination with schools and we pride ourselves in being able to deliver a fun and safe activity based exactly on what the school needs.

Whether your school are looking for an outdoor education programme, a fun P7 leavers day, a 'non-residential' residential, a school transition day or a Duke of Edinburgh programme; we've got it covered!

We know that planning a school trip is never easy, so we aim to make it as simple and seamless as possible, with all paperwork your school require ready to send at a moments notice. We truly believe there's nothing better for young people, than to be challenged in a different environment and we're therefore dedicated to make our centre as accessible to school groups as possible. We keep prices low, and quality high to sure every child has the opportunity to jump off a paddleboard or strike a flint and steel.

Have a browse below, or get in touch to let us know what you're looking for.

1 TO 1 SESSIONS

Sometimes young people just aren't suited to the classroom, time outside can be a great way to settle the mind ready for learning.

We have had some fantastic young people who come to us for 1 to 1 sessions and have really benefitted. Whether they're a vulnerable young person or simple need a different environment once in a while, some 1 to 1 sessions at Willowgate could be invaluable in improving mood, gaining attention and improving resilience and self-confidence.

We can organise a programme to suit any curricular needs you may have, or alternatively can be extremally flexible and student led. We've helped many young people through their John Muir award, Paddlesport qualifications as well as supported them on an alternative journey towards D of E.

See a case study here of a student who found his passion, confidence and drive through working 1 to 1 with us for 2 years.

We've had great success in the past with helping young people see their potential, let's see if we can help your students!

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ADDITIONAL SUPPORT NEEDS PROVISIONS

Does your school have an ASN provision who don't want to miss out on all the fun?

We think the outdoors should be for everyone and so we love to run accessible sessions for people with additional support needs. We can be flexible with the content of the session depending on the needs of the individuals and what they feel like doing on the day.

Sessions can be spent learning paddlesports, or if it’s more their style just having a good old splash about in the water. We have some specialist equipment to make our kayaks more accessible to wheelchair users and we also have 6 person Katakanus where everyone pitches in to get moving on the water.

These sessions can be a good opportunity for young people to come out of their shell, make some friends and gain some confidence. Whatever you’re looking for in a session, just give us a call and we’ll see what we can do.

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WE CAN COME TO YOU

Outdoor Education can be a great way to build resilience, teach self-confidence as well as help understand the need for respect for the people and things around you.

With that in mind, we pride ourselves in coming up with fun and engaging programmes regardless of space constraints or programme goals. If you have school grounds (even if it's a concrete jungle) and you’d like to run an outdoor education programme or one-off session, our instructors are happy to meet you there and bring our equipment in tow.

These in school programmes are proven to improve attendance as well as improving concentration in the classroom.

Let us know what the vision is you’re trying to achieve, and we can ensure your pupils end up appreciating outdoor adventure and all the skills which come along with it!

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SCHOOL ACTIVITY DAYS

Come for the whole day, or lots of days for a fun filled, jam packed activity day

We offer a range of water and land based activities put together to create great package for your pupils. We're popular among many local schools for our P7 Activity Days, Highschool Transition Days or Highschool Welcome Days. We have a great reputation for delivering fun, safe and memorable school activity days and see schools coming back year on year for their trips with us.

The activity day can be quite tailored to suit your needs. We usually find half a day doing watersports and half a day doing land activities to be quite a hit with schools, this way the young people get a chance to have lots of new experiences. Our ethos is to have young people busy with activity as much as possible, so we tend to avoid activities or games with long waiting times and prefer everyone to be stuck in adventuring and having fun!

The days tend to be from 9:00- 15:00(ish) to fit around your school pick-up/drop-off times, so just let us know what times suit you best. Many schools opt to come for a multiday programme (non-residential) with some of the evenings extended to include food and even more activities!

For more details please don't hesitate to get in touch and we look forward to welcoming your school here soon!


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DUKE OF EDINBURGH

Our staff are experienced and professional Duke of Edinburgh providers with years of experience.

We provide both D of E expeditions as well as full D of E packages to take away those logistical and admin struggles from your staff team.

D of E Expeditions with Willowgate

Ensuring that students, teachers and staff are well prepared for the expedition is key to the young people's success. Our packages therefore include planning, packing, development of expedition plans and route cards as well as all of the skills training needed for you and them to feel comfortable with their expeditions.

The following things are included within our D of E Expedition packages, although these can be completed tailored to suit your schools needs.

  • Planning days with pupils to help them plan their routes and prepare for exped
  • Training days to ensure pupils are comfortable and experienced in their mode of transport and navigation
  • One supervisor per group to ensure the pupils get the attention they need whilst out adventuring
  • Seamless communication with school leaders to ensure the logistical planning and execution of trips is smooth sailing and goes as planned


Our expeditions can be completed in the following:

  • Paddleboard
  • Kayak: sea kayak style boats
  • Canoe
  • Walking
  • Mountain Biking
  • And we're still waiting for the first group to take out our Giant SUP on exped!


Full D of E School Package

Let us take away the admin of signing pupils up to the award, ensuring they've filled in all their sections and everything else which comes with the Duke of Edinburgh Award. This package will look different for every school so for more information please get in touch to discuss your need

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