the fresh air, proximity to trees, and the natural soundtrack of birdsong will fundamentally benefit the students. Furthermore, the classroom and outdoor equipment will be available for other departments to book when Year 7 Biology lessons are not taking place. By demonstrating what’ s possible, we hope to lead the way in using the outdoor space and drawing inspiration from nature to plan and deliver innovative lessons on topics that might otherwise not be considered appropriate for the outdoors.
The detailed 45-lesson plans for the syllabus that we hope to launch in September 2026 is still in development, but we are looking forward to testing out some of our ideas this academic year. We intend each lesson to be primarily paper and device-free, except for essential tools like data loggers or camera traps for monitoring purposes. Interactive IT-based homework activities will follow each lesson, allowing students to consolidate, apply, or extend their learning. The new syllabus will include more ecology and natural history,
but we also intend to teach many other topics and scientific skills and concepts using natural resources in a creative way. A focus away from screens, interactive whiteboards, notebooks and pens, will allow more collaborative learning, developing oral communication, and memory skills and conceptual connections though the consolidatory homework tasks.
This new syllabus aims to create a holistic and immersive learning experience, deeply connecting students with the natural world. Biology has such a wide scope that we can easily spend one academic year outdoors, saving the microscopes, enzyme investigations, and other lab-based work for later in their academic journey. As Jacques- Yves Cousteau said,“ We only protect what we love, we only love what we understand, and we only understand what we are taught.” This ethos underpins our approach: by teaching biology outdoors, we hope to foster skills, deepen understanding, nurture a love of nature, and build an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all living organisms.
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