The Challenge of Camp: Learning to Be Brave

In this fortnight’s Leadership Reflection, Rob Higginbotham, Head of Middle School, reflects on how camp gives students the chance to step beyond the familiar, build independence, work with others and discover they are capable of more than they first thought.

There is something about camp that makes learning visible.

Throughout the year, Burgmann students often step away from the familiar rhythms of the classroom and into a different kind of learning environment. This term, Year 7 and 8 Middle School students have been pitching tents, preparing meals, following schedules, packing and unpacking hiking packs and facing challenges that cannot always be predicted.

But perhaps the most important things our students have been learning cannot be found on a packing list.

Camp and the outdoors create opportunities for students to practise independence, take appropriate risks, work through discomfort and discover something about themselves and others. These are not simply ‘camp skills’. They are the foundations of real-world learning.

One student summed this up simply: “I was able to succeed at things that I thought I couldn’t do.”

It is a simple statement, but one that captures something important about challenge. Often, we don't know what we are capable of until we are given the opportunity to try.

Camp also reminds us that independence does not mean doing everything alone. Students have had to communicate, listen, be patient and trust others. They have discovered that teamwork sometimes means relying on someone else, while at other times it means noticing when somebody else needs support.

“It’s OK to rely on others to help with teamwork.”

There is an important lesson here for all of us. In life beyond school, success rarely comes from having every answer or being completely self-sufficient. It comes from knowing when to persevere, when to ask for help and how to contribute to a team.

Of course, camp also brings challenge. There are moments when plans change, when the weather is uncomfortable, when an activity feels daunting or when things simply don't go as expected. These moments provide a genuine opportunity to practise self-talk, self-control and a positive mindset.

That learning came through clearly in the students’ reflections:

“I really learnt that my positive mindset matters!”

These are skills that matter well beyond adolescence. The ability to pause when something becomes difficult, manage our emotions, reconsider our assumptions and choose to have another go is part of becoming a capable and resilient person.

And then there are the practical lessons: reading schedules, following packing lists, prioritising what will fit in a backpack you have to carry, setting up a tent and cooking. These might seem small, but they are tangible expressions of responsibility and organisation.

Students quickly discover that preparation matters, and that sometimes the most valuable learning comes when we realise we haven't prepared quite as well as we thought!

Perhaps the greatest gift of camp, though, is the chance to step outside the comfort zone. Students have been encouraged to be brave, to challenge their assumptions about themselves and others and to find the good in unfamiliar experiences.

For one student, that led to a simple realisation:

“I learnt that I am more courageous than I thought.”

These experiences help students build a growing understanding of who they are: what they can do, how they respond when things get tricky, how they relate to others and what they value.

For our students, camp is an adventure. For us as educators, it is also a reminder that some of the most important learning cannot be contained within four classroom walls.

We want our young people to leave school ready to navigate a world that will continually ask them to adapt, collaborate, connect, persevere, make decisions and step into the unfamiliar. Camp gives them a safe place to practise these things now.

Sometimes, the best learning begins with simply being brave enough to have a go.