Why Outdoor Learning Matters More Than Ever

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With Headmaster, Mr Neal Bailey

Last Friday’s Bonfire Night brought the whole Pinewood community together on the field – fireworks that lit up the sky, traditional games, delicious food, and plenty of conversation. Now November has properly arrived, the days are marked by darker mornings, colder temperatures, and fields that stay damp well into the afternoon.

There is a tendency to assume children’s outdoor time naturally diminishes, yet autumn and winter offer distinct learning opportunities precisely because of the season’s changes. Outdoor education runs year-round at Pinewood, across our 84 acres of grounds on the Oxfordshire-Wiltshire border. “Autumn and winter teach children about nature’s rhythms in ways no textbook can,” explains our Headmaster Mr Neal Bailey. “There is genuine resilience built through embracing whatever weather the day brings.” Time spent outdoors in varied weather helps children feel calmer and more settled, naturally encouraging the kind of active movement that keeps them healthy throughout the year.

Seasonal Exploration Boosts Creativity

Walk through Pinewood on any winter morning and the school grounds are full of activity and learning, even as the weather turns colder. Pre-Prep children head to the Squirrel Classroom in their wellies for hands-on learning, and the mud kitchen, fire pit, and greenhouses continue to be outdoor spaces that we use year round. Being outside in natural spaces, children naturally engage with their surroundings in ways that spark imagination and creative thinking.

Pupils Come Together in Tough Conditions

Later this month, Pinewood hosts the Rugby 7’s tournament, an event that has been running for over 40 years. Schools arrive from across the region to compete whatever the weather brings. November sport has a different quality to summer fixtures – when it is cold and the pitch is heavy, something shifts. Teams find ways to communicate under pressure that don’t emerge in easier conditions, learning to work together and support one another in the moment.

Building Confidence Through Mud, Movement and Adventure

Our Rubber Legs challenge – Pinewood’s muddy obstacle course through the woodland – is renowned for being tough, muddy but above all else, fun! Teams work together to get all of their team members and their tyres round the course, under the cargo nets, through the water obstacles and back to the start before the other teams. It is a much loved fixture in the Pinewood calendar, and a wonderful opportunity for children to work through physical problems, take on challenges independently, and find capability and confidence in new and different ways.

Two girls carrying a tyre whilst running through a muddy field

Nature That Transforms Thinking

The polytunnel and raised beds in our walled Kitchen Garden stay productive through winter, with children harvesting vegetables they planted months earlier. The woodland changes completely this time of year, and pupils enjoy learning, exploring and playing among the 6,000 newly planted trees in our school grounds. The sensory richness of the woodland environment – the textures, sounds, and seasonal changes – provides children with experiences that naturally extend their thinking and problem-solving. For boarders, darker evenings create their own experiences, and our regular and flexi boarders can often be seen enjoying torchlight walks and fire pit gatherings after the school day has ended.

Two girls holding big rhubarb leaves above their heads

How Nature Helps Every Child Thrive

Children who find formal lessons difficult sometimes flourish during outdoor activities. Others who are strong academically discover strengths they did not know they had. Many children simply feel happier and more like themselves when they are outside, discovering a sense of ease and self-belief that carries back into the classroom. “What we see time and again is children discovering they are capable of more than they thought,” says Mr. Bailey. “Whether it is mastering a physical challenge or working as a team when conditions are not perfect, these are the moments that build genuine confidence.”

Three boys smiling at the camera outdoors in the woods

Pinewood’s Award-Winning Learning Outside the Classroom

We are proud to have our outdoor provision recognised by The National Council for Learning Outside the Classroom as a regional winner, though what matters more is watching children arrive each morning genuinely interested in what they might discover that day. Those early experiences outdoors often shape how children see themselves and the natural world for years to come.

Two boys lying on a bed of autumn leaves

For families considering their child’s education, outdoor learning represents more than fresh air and exercise. It is about developing confident, capable young people who understand what they are actually capable of. In a world where screens increasingly dominate how children spend their time, Pinewood offers something different – real weather, real seasons, real physical challenge. Children learn that discomfort is temporary and that capability grows through meeting difficult conditions. After Bonfire Night, as darker evenings settle in, that matters more than ever.

For more insights into choosing the right educational environment for your child, explore independent reviews from The Good Schools Guide, Talk Education, and Muddy Stilettos.