Year 10 Rock Climbing at Mount Arapiles 

Recently, the Year 10 Unit 1 Outdoor and Environmental Studies (OES) class visited Mount Arapiles, near Horsham, on a three-day rock climbing camp. This location was the perfect classroom for students to relate their theoretical understandings to in-the-field experiences. This included exploring how advances in technology influence outdoor experiences, responses to risk taking in the outdoors and different motivations for outdoor experiences. Students also looked at barriers and enablers for different genders, physical abilities, and socio-economic status, to accessing outdoor experiences.

On the first day, students worked on their climbing and belaying skills by top-rope climbing and abseiling at Bushrangers Bluff. Working on the foundational climbing skills on the first day was essential as, for days two and three, students were assigned a rock climbing guide and broke into small groups to scale some of Arapiles finest beginner climbs. For most students, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and highlight of the Year 10 OES program, with some groups climbing 120 metres of rock to the top of Mount Arapiles!