Cumulus Outdoors Residential Centre - Swanage School Trip

Explore different habitats and visit sites around the Isle of Purbeck to learn about wildlife; Kimmeridge Bay for zonation, rockpools, fossils and rocks, Studland for habitats, succession and beach studies, RSPB Arne for bird watching.
Our activities include: Identifying minibeast, animals interactions and food chains, animal detectives, evolution and adaptations, ultimate survivors, predators and prey, moth trapping, bird watching, rockpool and habitat exploring.

- Explore the work of Andy Goldsworthy and other environmental artists.
- Create our own giant artwork using natural resources.
- Field sketching.
- Watercolour painting

Explore your Victorians topic with a day trip to the Victorian seaside town of Swanage (dressing up is encouraged). Visits can include visiting; Swanage Heritage Centre, Swanage Steam Railway, Swanage Pier and Durlston Castle. Swanage is an ideal location to study local history with a wide selection of opportunities to learn about how the Victorians lived, what work they undertook and how they enabled the town to develop and grow.

Our exciting Bushcraft sessions and challenges are geared to help you get back to basics whilst also enjoying the natural environment. Using our own woodland sites at our tented villages and at our residential centre, the sessions are fun and educational.

Our bushcraft & Survival Specialist, Ian, became infatuated with the outside environment at a young age and the bounty of knowledge he could gain from it, enjoying this environment so much he joined the Royal Marines in 2011 and has remained as a reservist ever since. As his passion to pursue this as a career grew, it brought on the drive to take up the role of an instructor and he sought out where he could achieve the necessary accreditations. The Level 4 Instructor's course as accredited by the NCFE was his route in and through the multitude of courses he attended to obtain this, he began surrounding himself with like-minded individuals whilst training and travelling to remote areas of the world to learn some indigenous ways. The result being a selection of Bushcraft experiences led by someone with a genuine passion for what he does.

Coasteering is a fabulous sea and cliff based activity, which allows you to explore the Jurassic Coast under the supervision of qualified and experienced instructors. This fun water based activity involves rock scrambling and jumping, swimming and cave exploration.

Kayaking, Stand-Up Paddleboarding and Raft Building are also available on the picturesque lake. Learn how to paddle and control a kayak and SUP plus master the skill of building your own raft and then racing across the lake!
Visit Dorset Adventure park and tackle the mud-trail or the water-park

Your students can enjoy a combination of Swanage site visits to learn about local history and the fishing and quarrying foundations of the town. Learn why Swanage has been known as 'Little London' and understand why and how it has developed into a popular tourist location. Swanage Heritage Centre, Durlston Country Park, Swanage Steam Railway and Swanage Pier all contribute to our local history provision.

Explore Saxon sites across the Isle of Purbeck though educational walks, historical talks and site visits.
Visit Corfe Castle and learn about the Saxon history on this famous site, a perfect location for castle construction in defence of the area and protection of the surrounding inhabitants.

Our Swanage centre is located 15 minutes drive from Studland Beach which was used to practise for the D-Day landings. Learn about the Second World War by arriving as evacuees by steam train to Swanage; visiting historical sites such as North Fort and Studland Beach; and visiting Bovington Tank Museum.

We have partnered with the Dorset Wildlife Trust and with RSPB Arne so that your students can gain experience of the special environment (SSSI) on the Isle of Purbeck, a chalky heathland which sustains diverse fauna and flora species and is famous for being the home of all six of the native UK reptile species, breeding Dartford Warblers, Nightjars, Woodlarks and a large herd of Sikka deer. There are also large populations of migrant wading birds which over-winter on the mudflats of Poole Harbour. Your students can explore the home of these varied species under the guidance of experts from either organisation.

A short drive from Swanage inland, is Corfe Castle, a quintessential English village which has grown up around an important defensive castle renowned in English history during the Civil war. Now owned and run by the National Trust, your students can visit the castle and learn about how Lady Mary Bankes defended the last Royalist garrison on the south coast with her children and an army of five men until one of her band led the Parliamentarians in through a side gateway.
The castle has a very long history from its original construction by William the Conqueror through its destruction after the Civil War to its preservation by the National Trust today. Your students will have a fun, hands-on history lesson with knowledgeable guides based at the Corfe Castle visitors centre.

Our residential centre location in Swanage, Dorset is a gateway town to the World Heritage Jurassic Coast. Here your students will have the opportunity to see the rocks and the resulting landscapes formed in three geological time periods called the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous, spanning the time between 250 million years ago and 65 million years ago in a 95 miles of the south coast from Exmouth in Devon to Studland in Dorset. We can provide you with classroom facilities to study this important geological area and with transport to get you to fossil rich areas such as Kimmeridge Bay, and the iconic Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. Our Business Partnership with the Jurassic Coast Trust enables us to arrange for bespoke sessions with their ambassadors to deliver sessions for your pupils on site or in the classroom.

Our residential centre location in Swanage, Dorset is a gateway town to the World Heritage Jurassic Coast. Here your students will have the opportunity to see the rocks and the resulting landscapes formed in three geological time periods called the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous, spanning the time between 250 million years ago and 65 million years ago in a 95 miles of the south coast from Exmouth in Devon to Studland in Dorset. We can provide you with classroom facilities to study this important geological area and with transport to get you to fossil rich areas such as Kimmeridge Bay, and the iconic Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. Our Business Partnership with the Jurassic Coast Trust enables us to arrange for bespoke sessions with their ambassadors to deliver sessions for your pupils on site or in the classroom.
Swanage Bay is an ideal location for studying coastal erosion and methods in place to try and slow the process down, walk over Ballard Down to see Old Harry Rocks as a perfect display of chalk stacks and then visit Lulworth Cove, Stair Hole and Durdle Door for the complete landform examples of the whole erosion process.

Physical education is incorporated into all of our adventurous activities, physical exercise, strengthening, resilience, plus team building and leadership. All approached through our challenge and achieve ethos supported by our experienced instructors and activity leaders. The adventure activities we offer within our full programme residentials cover:
climbing, abseiling, coasteering, bushcraft, forest school, kayaking, raft racing, paddle boarding, high & low ropes, tunnelling, target sports and tag archery.

We can delivery high quality residential Geography and Geology field study courses for KS2, KS3, GCSE, IGCSE, A Level, IBDP and Scottish Higher Level in the UK. These field study Residentials are bookable from February to April and September to November each year. The courses can be tailored to meet your needs and requirements and equipment can be supplied, we are happy to run courses for smaller class sizes from 10 students and above.
For Primary Level topics covered include river studies, coastal erosion, orienteering, map skills, historical days, WW11,
For Secondary Level; The Isle of Purbeck, and the broader Dorset area, provide ideal locations for fieldwork and can be used by both AS students to cover the two days of Fieldwork required and by A-Level students completing their NEAs
We will offer guidance on logistics, locations, equipment, theory and opportunities available to your students, at whatever level required.

Learn about the Isle of Purbeck, how it has changed overtime and about the people who have inhabited it.
Visit locations showing evidence of prehistory inhabitation, from stone rings to barrows/tumuli, you will see how people lived in the Isle of Purbeck

All of our activities from adventurous experiences to fieldwork require a certain amount of teamwork and cooperation.

Your pupils can learn about Seasonal Changes, how and why these happen and the effects of these changes.

Visit local towns and cities in Dorset for population studies, urban development and regeneration and tourism studies. There are a wide selection of local examples to visit on your self-led field study visit to cover various aspects of human geography and also linking this to historical developments of settlements through time.

In today's world, environmental awareness is an essential topic to help children understand the environments they live in and how these are affected by the actions of the human race. Improve your pupil's environmental awareness through activities such as beach litter surveys and environmental quality surveys and investigations.
Topics covered include biology, Geology, Environmental art, Weather and climate studies, and the Watercycle.

With a variety of team building exercises, challenges and games, your students will learn how to work as a team to solve the questions posed of them. Team building is incorporated into many of our adventure activities concentrating on how to achieve the best from everyone, support, encouragement, planning, leadership and self-confidence.

Experience the transformative power of nature with our forest school programme. Moving beyond the pressures of a traditional classroom, our approach allows children to slow down and reconnect with their environment. Many students live within urban areas leading a busy life and have little chance to regularly engage with and appreciate the benefits of natural green areas.

With a blended offer of structured activities that teach essential survival skills like fire lighting and shelter building, alongside student-led explorations that foster creativity through nature art and problem-solving activities, children will discover the diverse array of animals, plants, insects and birds, igniting their curiosity and desire to learn more.
Time spent in nature not only enhances concentration and problem-solving skills but also nurtures a deep affinity for the natural world. As they engage with nature, students will build self-confidence and teamwork skills, learning how to collaborate harmoniously with the environment around them.
At Cumulus, we can offer fully immersive residentials focused on the forest school approach, as well as the option to incorporate forest school or bushcraft sessions into your activity program. We can also tailor activity days centered on forest school values to meet your students' needs.
Contact us today to discuss how we can create meaningful experiences and outcomes for your students. Together, let's explore the wonders of nature!

We are able to offer food and accommodation only for self-led educational visits during the months of February, March, April, October and November.
This is ideal for schools with smaller GCSE/A-Level groups wishing to complete curriculum or specific field study topics.
Please contact us for availability.