Discover Primary Outdoor Learning 2017-18

discover-orienteering
Click here for Session Dates, Times & how to book.

Last academic year an amazing 1023 Midlothian pupils attended  Outdoor Learning Service Discover sessions, and many  progressed on to attend our successful Orienteering festival (500+) and Biking festival(250 +)

This year in addition to our bespoke Outdoor Learning programmes arranged directly with schools, we will be running again our successful and popular Discover Outdoor Leaning days aimed at Primary school classes to encourage more of our pupils to learn outdoors.

Our Discover Outdoor Learning Sessions this year are aimed at ;

The information booklet available here (Or click on the picture)  gives all the details you need to book for this year and attend as well as links to further information regarding curriculum links and further participation as well as;

  • Midlothian Orienteering Festival 2018
  • Midlothian Mountain Biking Festival 2018

discover-bikingPlease contact the named Outdoor Learning Teacher as per the booklet if you wish to arrange attendance at one of these popular advertised sessions.

We look forward to seeing you all in 2017-18 year for some exciting Discover Outdoor Learning Days.

Inspiring Midlothian Bike Festival 2017

13th June 2017 what a day!  250 pupils from 10 Midlothian Primary schools took part in the Midlothian Bike Festival 2017 at Beeslack High School.  Well done to all pupils at the event you really impressed with your skills.  Congratulation’s to Mauricewood Primary School who were the overall team winners. The results can be found here  –  Mid Bike Fest 2017 RESULTS   

Sean Fallon (Midlothian Council Outdoor Learning Teacher) the event organiser commented that “Midlothian have some seriously talented and resilient P6 and P7 cyclists” after watching some impressive action on the skills and cross country competition courses. 
The event was organised by the Midlothian Outdoor Learning Service and supported by a host of partners including Ikea, Tesco, Alpine Bikes, Endura and others.  We are confident that pupils and staff will enjoy cycling more as a result and encourage others to get out and pedal too. 
Jonathan Stranberg from Ikea, one of our sponsors “was impressed with the set up” and remarked that “all the pupils were having a great time”.  This is testament to all the hard work and effort of all the volunteers and staff from a wide range of organisations supporting the event.  We would like to say a HUGE thanks from the Midlothian Outdoor Learning Service to everyone who helped.
View and Share Photos HERE.
If you were inspired by this amazing event get in touch with Midlothian Outdoor Learning Service for support with cycling activities. Its never too early to sign up for next years event which takes place on the 13th June 2018.
Well done to all our Endeavour and Resilience nominees:
 Kelsie  Paradykes PS
 MacKenzie K   Paradykes PS
 Liam H  Sacred Heart PS)
 Rodrigo G  Kings Park PS
 Murrin M  Kings Park PS
 Isla S  Kings Park PS
 Alastair B  Roslin PS
 Brodie C  Mauricewood PS
 Adam W  Mauricewood PS
 Josh N  Mauricewood PS
Aiden M Mauricewood PS
Katie M Mauricewood PS
Kian W Mauricewood PS

Midlothian Primary pupils compete at the Scottish Schools Orienteering Festival

The Scottish Schools Orienteering Festival on the June 2nd 2017 was a great success for the Midlothian Primary School squad.  This is the first time a Midlothian squad has participated in this event which was very exciting.  It was made up of 20 athletes from P5, 6 & 7  from 5 different schools.  They were selected through the Midlothian Outdoor Learning Develop and Achieve Orienteering squad who have been taking part in training sessions over the last few months.  After all successfully competing at the Midlothian Primary Schools event in Vogrie they were very keen to compete at the National level against Scotland’s best young orienteers.

Sean Fallon the team coach would like to thank all the school staff, parents and ESOC volunteers for their support.  He said “that he was proud of how all the pupils conducted themselves and importantly gave 100% effort in pursuit of glory”

Results can be found on the Scottish Schools Orienteering Association website – HERE.

If you want to find out more about Orienteering then visit Midlothian Outdoor Learning website HERE.

Tay Canoe Expedition – BCHS


The Beeslack CHS Tay canoe expedition took place from the 15th to 18th of May 2017. A short video of the expedition can be seen below. The expedition participants were 6 S3 students. These students were part of a Personal Development Group at the school.

The aims of the expedition were:

  • Complete a progressive canoe programme culminating in a 4 day expedition
  • Develop student’s independent living skills
  • Develop student’s resilience
  • Draw out learning points through daily discussion and review

Before the expedition the group took part in 2 canoe training days at Whiteadder Reservoir and Musselburgh Lagoons. We also completed some camp craft sessions and met with parents to discuss the trip.

The trip was four days long;

  • Day 1 – drive up, meet Biscuit (Canoe coach and river leader), refresh skills on Loch Tay, set up camp and cook dinner
  • Day 2 – canoe river Lyon and short section of Tay, cook dinner and evening activities
  • Day 3 – half day canoe on Tay, strike camp and pack for overnight wild camp. Paddle on Loch Tay to overnight wild camp – campfire!
  • Day 4 –  strike camp, in depth review, paddle Loch Tay, depart for Penicuik

The expedition was challenging for all participants at different times, for many different reasons. We regularly discussed and reviewed the participant’s experiences to draw out learning points and identify transferable skills. The input staff made with the participants was invaluable.  In addition, Biscuit’s input and the efforts he went to, to build strong relationships with the participants quickly – was extremely beneficial.  With his help we managed to get even the most nervous of paddlers down the white water sections with smiles on their faces!  The students that attended worked hard, they gave 100% and participated fully – it was very pleasing to see this – I hope they will now transfer back some of their learning to their daily life.

 

500+ Pupils Attend 2017 Orienteering Festival – Final Results

Over 500 pupils took part in the recent Orienteering Festival at Vogrie Country House. An amazing turnout to a fantastic event using this superb venue.
A huge thank you to the staff at Vogrie, the Active Schools team, ESOC and all the staff in the Primary Schools who entered their enthusiastic pupils and made the event possible.

The event was organised by the Midlothian Outdoor Learning Service and has been a great success and we hope to run again in 2018.

Three linear courses were set out for P5, P6 and P7 that challenged their navigational abilities.

  • We had over 500 entries-  made up of pairs, teams and solos.
  • A total of 12 primary schools.
  • Several schools brought over 50 pupils, some bringing over 100 – amazing.

All young people appeared to enjoy the opportunity to partake in this event. Plenty of smiles from our confident, successful learners.

Congratulations to all the pupils who took part. The winning schools in each category are:

P5

Adam & Callum – Cornbank PS

Fastest School – Cornbank PS

 

P6

Kyle – Loanhead PS

Fastest School – Roslin PS 

 

P7

Aiden – Gorebridge PS

Fastest School – Roslin PS 

Results can be found here: Orienteering Results 2017. The key to the school codes can be found here: ML-ELC Primary School codes  – these are all the results for all schools – you can see how well your individual teams and pupils performed. We will arrange for trophies for the fastest students to be sent to each school.

We will be running more Discover Orienteering in the 2017/18 year, but for those that wish to take their talent further and pit themselves against others from across Scotland then you need to enter some great events coming up;

Scottish Schools Orienteering Competition – Closing date for Entries  – 23rd May 2017

More Orienteering opportunities locally can be found on these club websites: ELO  and ESOC