Oliver Knight, Head of Pangbourne College, on the importance of both academic rigour and opportunities for adventure and exploration

Providing an academic education alongside an ethos of adventure and exploration is, I believe, fundamental to young people acquiring the knowledge, skills and character necessary to act with confidence in imperfect situations and leave a positive mark on the world.

In the words of educational psychologist Lauren Resnick, students who, over an extended period of time, are treated as if they are intelligent actually become so. If they are taught demanding content and are expected to explain and find connections as well as memorise and repeat, they learn more and more quickly.  They come to think of themselves as learners. They are able to bounce back in the face of short-term failure. So what we teach is as important as how we teach.

This means the curriculum sits at the heart of school life. Our students need to leave us having been inducted into systems of worthwhile knowledge that enable them to participate in and shape the national discourse. As Alex Standish so beautifully put it: ‘school subjects then are a way of inducting children into the intellectual habits of humankind, and hence into a disciplinary conversation about knowing our world’. We have a responsibility in preparing students to take their place in the continuing conversation, enquiry, and debates. 

“Having an adventurous mindset means having a view of yourself that places the deeds you carry out as determined by the thoughts you have”

Now, more than ever, to be successful we need to be able to work in teams and networks of people who may be different from ourselves – with different values, perspectives and ways of doing things. We need to be able to show not just the ability to do this, but to have an interest in it. 

Alongside an academic curriculum programme, an adventure programme designed to allow success and failure to be equal partners takes students outside of their comfort zone. This then allows them to face their fears and excel. It also provides a platform to foster critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork through hands-on experiences. It teaches them to know when to talk and when to listen. Also, when to press ahead with an idea and when to stop and go back to the drawing board. Being a good team player means more than simply waiting quietly for your turn to talk. It means being willing to not get your own way in order to achieve the wider goal or mission. 

Pangbourne students are fortunate to have a wealth of opportunities that flow from our Adventure Curriculum. This is a core part of life here and encompasses The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), CCF, and our bushcraft and survival programmes.

Having an adventurous mindset, then, means having a view of yourself that places the deeds you carry out as determined by the thoughts you have. The most successful people take ownership of their lives and their decisions. They take risks but they accept the outcome and the responsibility when it goes wrong. They learn that ownership of decisions is liberating.

Pangbourne College pangbourne.com

Further reading: Malvern College on thinking beyond Oxbridge

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