Creative and Adventurous Summers
Marlborough College Open Minds, is a residential summer course for teenagers. Here they discuss how their creative education in action can have a lasting effect on those who take part.
Picture the scene. You are standing on a small rocky ledge, looking down at a pool of deep blue water waiting to receive you. The brown algae below swirls into the clear water with every passing wave, marking your landing spot. All you have to do is step, with conviction, travelling through the still summer air and into the ocean below. The reassuring voice of an instructor mixes with the enthusiastic cheers of your friends below – a growing group of bobbing heads that serve as evidence of the safety of the challenge before you.
Pushing aside your fear, you take a deep breath and leap forwards, experiencing a fleeting moment of airborne stillness that is accompanied by a soaring feeling in the pi of your stomach. The waves seemingly rise up to meet you, followed by the unmistakeable sound of the sea from below, white noise rushing around your ears as you kick your way to the surface and emerge, breathless and elated and with only one thought on your mind: Can I do it again?
This combination of fear, risk and personal challenge are the elements that are at the heart of every great adventure. As we take the metaphorical leap, supported and encouraged by those around us, we experience a euphoria that is not just a sign of adrenaline, but rather a sign of our own self-belief, our ability to push ourselves to step out of our comfort zone and of a burgeoning confidence that will continue to serve us long after the adrenaline has subsided.
Outdoor adventures have long been a feature of school curriculums and summer camps, and for good reason: they been linked to improvements in self-esteem, problem-solving and conflict resolution skills, and increased group bonding, all vitally important for young people.
But it is not only through scaling mountains or heading out to sea that this transformational thrill is to be found: the very same nervous intake of breath is equally common in the silent seconds before sharing a piece of personal writing, voicing an opinion before an expectant room or stepping out onto stage and into a character that you have created. These creative challenges are not limited to artistic endeavours. Whenever we explore ideas with originality, problem solve, or evaluate and respond to the new or unknown we are taking creative risks and opening ourselves up to all the same potential benefits associated with outdoor adventures.
Marlborough College Open Minds, a residential summer course for teenagers in rural Wiltshire, provides an example of a creative and adventurous education in action and the impact such an education can have on those who receive it. In July and August of each year, the Marlborough campus becomes home to a small group of UK and international teenagers who, over the course of the following month, will be engaging in a series of increasingly challenging creative and adventurous risks that are designed to expand perspectives, encourage open and critical discourse and give students access to the euphoric self-confidence that follows a true adventure. Reflecting on their experiences on Open Minds, previous students described the positive impact of the course:
“I’m a different person now, I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel different. I feel more confident and happier” -Christina
“I’ve changed a lot. I used not to want to do anything, now I try anything, and I used to be scared of everything and now I’m not scared anymore. I’m a much happier person in general now” -Maru
The effects of participation in such a course, one that offers students a safe and supportive environment within which to test their limits and demonstrate their capabilities, can be profound and lasting. To hear more former students reflect on their Open Minds experience and to learn more about the Open Minds course, watch the video below or visit our website at www.open-minds.com.