Hengistbury Head Outdoor Education Centre

Based on the side of the beautiful Christchurch Harbour, our Centre has a very special feel about it. We are flexible with programming and can therefore meet most schools needs. We have a wide variety of sessions to challenge, educate and entertain students.

Our campsite is a short drive from the Centre; we lay coaches on each day to enable a smooth transition from water based Centre to campsite. The campsite is not open to the public and has high levels of security for your peace of mind.

Safety is our top priority, that's why all of our activities are run by fully qualified and experienced instructors and we are accredited by relevant national governing bodies (ALLA, LOTC, Adventure mark, BCU and RYA).

We like to run 2.5 hour sessions of activity so that students get a real feel for the sports. Some activities allow students to challenge themselves personally whilst others work on communication and teamwork. The dragon boat racing is often a highlight of the week as well as the sailing. It is quite normal to finish a residential trip with a kayak or canoe journey down the river Stour; this beautiful day trip allows the students to put into practice the skills they learnt earlier in the week with a full day of paddling down the river, stopping on the river side for lunch.

Our maximum group size is 200. Activity ratios do change depending on the activity, but mostly we work in group sizes of 8 people per instructor. For Field Studies the staff ratio depends on the age of the group and also how many staff the group bring.

We have three classrooms and a lovely outside teaching space.

First aid is so important, that's why every member of staff here is First Aid trained.

Unfortunately we don't currently have specific equipment for disabled groups. However some of our activities can be suitable for disabled groups depending on their specific needs. For more information please get in touch. We are used to working with diverse groups in terms of abilities and needs and will always try to create a programme that can work for all of your group.

We are used to working with diverse groups in terms of abilities and needs and will always try to create a programme that can work for all of your group.