A Message from the Principal

Welcome to Outdoor School!

Hi, my name is Roger Blackwell and I am proud to be the Principal of Outdoor School.

I’d like to begin my welcome by acknowledging Australia’s First Nations Peoples as the custodians of the land and waterways upon which we work. We acknowledge Victoria’s Aboriginal communities and culture and pay respect to their elders past, present and emerging.

Outdoor School is a P-12 Residential School within the Victorian Department of Education and Training. We comprise of 2 campuses – 15 Mile Creek located just outside the town of Benalla in North East Victoria, and Bogong, situated just below Falls Creek in the north east section of the Victorian Alps. We also form part of the Outdoor Residential Schools Network (ORSN) that as a collective provide high quality outdoor education programs across the state of Victoria.

Our vision is to “educate for sustainable living” with an educative purpose to ‘develop future-ready young adults’.

To fulfill our vision and educative purpose we employ the best teachers and education support staff available. Our teachers create and deliver our school’s amazing curriculum. Broadly speaking, our teachers teach explicit content in the areas of:

• Personal Development
• Social Development
• Critical Thinking
• Outdoor Living
• Nature Knowledge
• Future Maker
• Both Campuses also deliver aspects of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) study design Outdoor and Environmental Education Units 1 to 4.

Our curriculum and programs:

• Ensure students gain a greater understanding of the importance of nature on their physical and mental wellbeing.
• Enable students to design and action sustainable living practices in their homes, their schools and their communities.
• Provide opportunities for students to understand and learn how to evaluate risk in order for them to make more informed decisions and choices.
• Ensures students engage, collaborate and solve problems that enhance their ability to be a productive member of society while managing sustainable practices to ensure the planets systems are cared for and respected.
• Enable students to understand the value of being and positively contributing to, and in, a community.
• Our teachers are committed to delivering the highest quality outdoor and environmental education programs to realise the potential of each individual student.

Please continue to explore our website, we welcome your feedback.

For general school enquiries please feel free to contact me personally. If you would like specific information regarding either Campus, please contact; 15 Mile Creek Campus Principal – Rhys Evans or Bogong Campus Principal – Martin Eriksson.

Thank you for your time and we look forward to continuing to provide students across Victoria the very best in Education Outdoors.

Roger Blackwell

Principal