Pictures: Big Camp Out at Hove Park School

The camp at the school’s Nevill campus saw students spend the day taking part in Forest School activities before camping out on the school grounds.

In total 260 students took part, with 146 camping out overnight.

The idea behind the event was to allow students to learn new skills such as team work, resilience and problem solving.

Jim Roberts, Hove Park headteacher, said: “Student outcomes will always remain a key priority at Hove Park because exam results so often dictate future pathways and opportunities for young people.

“However, my vision for our school also relates very much to the school experience each and every student will have.

“It is about identifying the skills, values and attributes that we believe students should develop during their time with us and the things they will see, hear, try and explore at KS3, KS4 and KS5.

“I have always been very clear that I want to ensure we provide experiences that all students can access and be part of, and over time, this would develop into an entitlement that all students could expect in coming to Hove Park.

“At the beginning of the autumn term we came together as a community and won the OneFamily community grant of £25,000 for our Valley Campus outdoor gym. ‘The Big Camp’ is another opportunity for us to come together as a community to support all students in Year 7 to have the opportunity to spend the night under canvas and take part in a range of Forest School-type activities.”

Hove MP Peter Kyle attended the event and said: “Hove Park School has just finished its amazing Big Camp. Several year groups spent the whole day doing projects, exercises and challenges, mostly outside.

“By the time I popped along there had been obstacle courses, musical performances, and fire building to cook marshmallows over. A ‘wide game’ was just getting underway as I left, which filled me with nostalgia for my days as a Scout when I was growing up.

“Many of the students I spoke to hadn’t been camping before, let alone cooked over an open fire. This kind of thing is a brilliant thing for young people to do and I’m so pleased that the teachers, staff, volunteer parents, and the police cadets all put so much effort into making it happen. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them but from what I saw every student was very, very grateful that you did.”

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