UKSA in Cowes has announced a new ‘Autumn Outings’ secondary school residential programme in response to increased demand for experiences in the maritime industry and outdoor learning following the pandemic.
Offered from the month of September, the bespoke programme has been created in response to observations that during the winter months, young people are less likely to engage in beneficial activity programmes and, as a result, can become insular.
Ben Willows, CEO of UKSA, has said:
“We’ve taken our hugely popular existing residential programme and adapted it to cater specifically for older children and the time of year. It ensures that the activities still focus on maritime but include more shoreside and indoor activities.
“The programme will provide impact in terms of encouraging resilience and teamwork, along with problem solving, which will benefit the students when they return to the classroom environment and in their own communities and social groups.
“Crucially, the course will be discounted to enable schools and parents which cannot afford the peak season, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to experience the programme and what better way to start the new autumn term than to have a residential trip to look forward to.”
Depending on the length of the residential visit, the Autumn Outings programme will see UKSA’s expert instructors teach students the techniques required for survival at sea and ashore, keel and deck work such as learning knots, lashings, rigging and boat controls as well as how to use radio and communications techniques such as Mayday calls.
The children will also learn basic plotting with navigation charts and maps, team building exercises as well as take part in a beach clean or maritime walk in Cowes.
It’s not all learning, with students getting the opportunity to try their hand at climbing, archery, canoeing and volleyball as well as den building, water polo, movie nights and crabbing.
