Departure Pack
Thank you for visiting Cumulus Outdoors. We hope you enjoyed your time in the Isle of Purbeck as much as we enjoyed having you around!
Let us know how we did!
We value your feedback and would really appreciate it if you could leave us a review. Reviews are a great way to shine a light on our fantastic facilities, unbeatable location and hardworking team members! Don’t forget to let us know if one of our instructors made your stay extra special!
Share your photos with us
Don’t forget to share any photos of your time in the great outdoor. Submit your photos by clicking on the button below.
Share your Memories with us!
Tag us in your posts
We encourage visitors to share photos of your residential trip with parents and the wider community. It’s a great way to share memories with caregivers and show younger classes what they can expect when it’s their turn to visit us! When sharing photos of your residential trip on social media, please tag us in your posts – we’d love to see! You can find us on Facebook, X (formally Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, as Cumulus Outdoors.
Likewise, if you decide to post a blog about the trip on your website, please link back to our website, Cumulus Outdoors.
You can find us on Facebook, X (formally Twitter), Instagram, TikTok as Cumulus Outdoors.
Share a blog about your time with us!
Would you or your pupils like to give us an insight into your stay at Cumulus Outdoors? We love to share blogs from schools that have visited us on our website.
All you have to do is email it to us at: info@cumulusoutdoors.com
Take a look at some examples for inspiration!
We’ve created a list of recommended follow up activities to enjoy back in the classroom. These activities are designed to build on residential trip learning and further young people’s interest in the great outdoors! If you decide to proceed with any of our suggestions, we’d love to see! Share photographs, letters or artwork with us by tagging Cumulus Outdoors on social media. You can also send us an email!
In-Class Follow Up Activities
English
Many schools build on their residential trip during English lessons by encouraging students to vocalise their experience or document it in written form. Here’s a few ideas you may wish to develop on your return to the classroom.
- Write a thank you letter – write a letter to your Cumulus instructor thanking them for your visit – it would make their day to hear what you enjoyed about the trip! We will make sure to share it on our website and our social media channels.
- Journal entries – ask students to write journal entries, detailing each day of their stay. You could suggest prompts such as ‘what were your highlights?’, ‘what did you learn?’, ‘what did you find hard?’, or give children the freedom to retell their experience in their own way.
- Poetry – challenge students to write a poem about their favourite activity using their chosen style. Or, you could ask them to take inspiration from the sounds and smells of the Jurassic Cost to create a descriptive poem inspired by the environment.
- Create a presentation – encourage young people to work in teams to create and deliver a presentation on their experience at Cumulus Outdoors. This is a great way to share photos and reminisce on funny memories! It could even be presented to the class below to show them what to expect when they visit us next year!
Art & Design
If you have budding artists in your class, why not incorporate your trip to Cumulus into an upcoming art craft project? You can take inspiration from the stunning scenery or memories of your trip!
- Create a brochure for Cumulus – challenge your class to create a brochure advertising a school trip to Cumulus Outdoors. They can include descriptions of their favourite activities, pictures of the facilities and testimonials from their friends. Older students may choose to create their advertisement on the computer. This is a great way to become more familiar with tools such as Photoshop, Powerpoint or Word.
- Host a photography exhibition – host an exhibition showcasing photographs taken on your trip to Cumulus Outdoors. Help your class curate the images and display them around your school hall!
- Design a postcard – get arty students to put pen to paper and design a postcard relating to Cumulus Outdoors. The artwork could include local landmarks or our residential centre or village. If you’d like to send us a postcard our address is Cumulus Outdoors Residential Centre, Cobbler’s Lane, Swanage, Dorset, BH19 2PX
- Paint a Isle of Purbeck landscape – encourage students to paint a picture of their favourite Dorset landscape in the style of a famous artist!
PE
Don’t let the fun stop because you’re back to school. There are many ways to replicate outdoor adventure activities within your school grounds!
- Orienteering – recreate a Cumulus Outdoors orienteering session within the grounds of your school! Challenge students to create their own map with various checkpoints plotted along a course. Opposing teams can race each other to see who can finish in the quickest time.
- Create an obstacle course – did your students participate in the Dorset Mud Trail whilst staying at our residential centre or tented village? Create your own obstacle course using equipment from the PE cupboard. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just get creative with what you have!
- Team games – we’re a big fan of team games at Cumulus – they’re a great way to get young people socialising and working alongside their peers. The majority of our games can be copied with equipment you already have. We suggest netball, dodgeball, basketball, volleyball and football. Can your students beat their times and do it quicker than during their trip?
Geography
When you travelled off-site during your school trip with Cumulus you would have experienced the scenery surrounding our residential centre and tented village. We’re so lucky to have so much beauty and natural history on our doorstep in The Isle of Purbeck. Hopefully young people return home feeling inspired and raring to learn more about nature and the great outdoors!
- Research World Heritage Sites – the Jurassic Coast is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Site of Special Scientific Interest. Encourage students to learn more about these designations and the criteria natural landmarks have to satisfy in order to make the list! Split the class into groups to research different Heritage Sites around the world. Many have virtual tours, so you can explore them from the comfort of the classroom on your interactive whiteboard! This will make for a lesson they will not forget.
- Delve deep into pre-historic times – some of the UK’s most significant fossil discoveries have been made in Dorset, just moments from our residential centre and tented villages. If we’ve learnt anything during our time working with young people – they all love dinosaurs! Use this as an ‘in’ to talk about different species of dinosaurs, how they become extinct and the various types of fossils you can find. If you have a sandpit in your schools grounds you could even set up your own excavation!
- Explore coastal formations – the Jurassic Coast has some of the most unique coastal formations in the UK. Discuss how natural landmarks were formed and the significance they have on the local landscape. Use locations students visited during their school trip to aid understanding. Dancing Ledge, Old Harry Rock and Lulworth Cove are all extremely interesting to study! Encourage students to present their learning in a poster or presentation to develop their teamwork and creativity, while thinking back to their time with us.
- Discuss environmental impact – green energy is now increasingly more important, and minimising our impact on the surrounding landscape is one of our biggest priorities at Cumulus Outdoors. Use our Green Policy page to discuss conservation efforts and sustainability. You could even challenge students to come up with their own ideas on how outdoor education providers can reduce their ecological footprint.
Let’s keep in touch!
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you again for choosing Cumulus Outdoors for your residential school trip. If you have any queries and would like to get back in touch with us, please do not hesitate to do so! We look forward to seeing all your projects after your visit, and of coure we can’t wait to welcoming you back to Swanage soon!
Cumulus Outdoors
What schools say about us
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School testimonialsOur best residential as a school, we very much appreciated the personal touch from all staff members and the food was amazing!
Longspee School
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School testimonialsGreat place to visit with schools - we had a lot of fun with all the different activities and the instructors were all so lovely! Lots of adventure and experiences which will take you outside of your comfort zone. All in a beautiful town. Thanks to everyone at Cumulus!
Julia T
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School testimonialsA well run and well planned week that gave our children some memories that will live with them forever. Really happy with the provision for our inner-city London children, giving them first time life experiences and providing them with successes. A fantastic week!
Athelney School
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School testimonialsThe Cumulus Centre provide a fantastic fun filled residential. Every need or adaptation required to support our school was met with ease. They were fantastic communicators and involved you in all decisions. Instructing staff were great and knew the needs of our more complex children, ensuring everyone had a go at all activities and had fun.
The Greville Primary School