Our Outdoor Education program is a cornerstone of a Melbourne Grammar School education, fostering growth through purposeful experiences beyond the classroom. It is designed as a sequential, experiential journey for all students from Prep to Year 10, shaping students through developing strong relationships with self, others, and the environment.
Through this journey, students develop confidence, resilience, leadership and a lasting connection to the natural world. These outcomes are central to the School’s commitment to holistic education.
Our approach to Outdoor Education is informed by research, experience and a clear philosophy:
- Relationships and values: centred around furthering a student’s understanding of who they are, how they relate to others, and the human values that support thriving communities at all scales.
- Experiential learning: learning by doing in authentic ‘whole brain and body’ experiences facilitated for healthy risk-taking behaviour, that enhances broader academic and personal development.
- Challenge with support: students are supported by expert staff in risk-aware, structured ways.
- Progression over time: skills and understanding are built sequentially across years and Campuses.
- First Nations culture: developing a connection with Country, appreciation for family and community structures, and new ways of being and seeing.
Our programs are designed to grow students’ capabilities and confidence, using three key activity elements: hiking, biking, and paddling. Many other beneficial life skills are developed, including cooking, communal living, ecological understandings, self-efficacy, and collaboration and leadership in group settings.
Regardless of a child’s starting point at Melbourne Grammar School, their formative time in Outdoor Education is well-supported and appropriately challenging. For those students who desire further extension beyond the comprehensive Prep-Year 10 program, the Leslie Gladstone Robertson (LGR) Society provides a unique opportunity to explore leadership, responsibility, and adventure through its opt-in trips open for all students from Years 9 to 12.
The Outdoor Education Journey Across Campuses
Prep to Year 6 (Grimwade House)
Outdoor Education begins with play, exploration and foundational experiences. Early years programs include Forest School and day visits, building toward camps at Woodend, Cape Paterson and Camp Dowd.
Programs are intentionally sequenced, allowing each experience to build on the last and support steady growth over time. Students experience their first night away from home in Year 2, with a sleepover at Grimwade House. The Grimwade program culminates with a capstone adventure on the Gippsland Lakes, spending time at Camp Dowd and exploring the Lakes by raft and boat, along with a remote camp on 90 Mile Beach.
“Young students are still learning about connection between their brain and body. Purposeful play in the outdoors also supports the interaction between physicality and intellectual growth.”—Caroline Beilby, Head of Junior Primary
Years 7 and 8 (Wadhurst)
Outdoor Education provides a key social and developmental experience, supporting students as they form identity and connection within their House cohort. Through two camps in Year 7, and ‘The Bridge’, a longer fieldwork expedition in Year 8, Wadhurst students enjoy up to 18 days of Outdooor Education
These experiences are designed as important stepping stones toward the more independent journeys of Senior School.
Read more about outdoor education at Wadhurst.
"This camp was a great journey of discovery, merging education with adventure in a picturesque natural setting.”—Charlie Kimpton, Year 8 student. Read more
Years 9 to 12 (Senior School)
Senior School students consolidate their learning through increasingly challenging and self-directed experiences. Understanding of identity, and personal and community values are explored through guided reflection.
- Year 9: Two 6-day journey-based programs, one focused on hiking, and the other using another activity such as sea kayaking, rafting, or mountain biking to journey through more remote areas.
- Year 10: All students undertake the remarkable 20-day Beyond the Gates expedition. This is a renowned wilderness journey, predominantly bushwalking with other linking activities and a 36-hour solo.
- Years 9–12: Optional leadership and adventure opportunities through the Leslie Gladstone Robertson (LGR) Society – including Victorian, interstate and international opportunities, and leadership and Wilderness First Aid courses.
Read more about outdoor education at our Senior School.
“In my role as captain of LGR, I try to learn what people’s strengths are, and then get everyone to work together to balance out the team. Everyone really learns how to lead together.”—Oscar Sorell (OM 2025), Captain of LGR. Read more
