Outdoor Life
'A wide ranging curriculum, both inside and outside the classroom, enables pupils to develop good attitudes to learning, which they embrace with enthusiasm.' ISI Inspection March 2010
The boys and girls at Barfield enjoy a very healthy balance of time spent indoors and outdoors. As well as enjoying the play areas and sports pitches at breaktimes, the children take part in programmes purposefully designed to maximise their learning in the outdoor environment.
Barfield is set in 12 acres of its own beautiful grounds. We have 2 main sports fields and a field used for our adventure activities. We have a woodland nature reserve on neighbouring land which allows the children to benefit from nature trails and cross-country running areas. We have a number of high ropes and low ropes elements here as well as a basic survival area and facilities for night camps.
Barfield has a number of outdoor play areas for the children to use during their break periods and the Pre-Prep has its own dedicated sandy play area. A number of climbing, balancing and swinging activities are provided for the children to use and the children may use the main fields for ball games. We have two hard play areas, one of which is floodlit and used during breaks, games periods and in the evenings.
Forest Schools
Each Pre-Prep class heads down to the woods each fortnight for their 'Forest Schools' sessions, led by our own Forest Schools-trained Staff. Activities are linked to the work they have been covering in their classrooms, and can include making houses for a variety of animals, making boats out of sticks and testing how well they float, and cooking marshmallows over the fire!
A.C.E. Programme
The children in Years 3 - 8 enjoy two carefully planned 'outdoorsy' days based on the simple themes of AWARENESS (Years 3 & 4), COMMITMENT (Years 5 & 6), and EMPOWERMENT (Years 7 & 8).
3 Peaks Outdoor Pursuits
Barfield School benefits from having its own Outdoor Pursuits facility, '3Peaks' on site. The boys and girls gain confidence by challenging themselves physically and mentally, whether on the high ropes courses and quad bikes, or through team building activities and initiative tests.
