Outdoor Education
Each year, Kilvington students embark on exciting outdoor education trips across Australia, from Year 3 to Year 12. These immersive experiences are designed to challenge, inspire, and expand their horizons, whether it's bushwalking, waterskiing, rock climbing, raft building, surfing, cycling, or leadership training.
These adventures foster personal growth, teamwork, and a deep connection with nature. Beyond developing valuable life skills, the experiences enrich their education, integrating with subjects like Geography, Science, Photography, and English to bring learning to life in dynamic ways.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
— Albert Einstein
Junior School Camps
Our Year 3 and 4 students will experience an unforgettable outdoor adventure to the beautiful foothills of Lake Mountain at Camp Marysville. Activities on offer will include a paddle across the lake in an exciting canoe session, plus making pizzas with fresh-picked herbs in the "Grow it, Cook it" activity. We will bring even more thrills, with bouldering, learning bush skills like fire-lighting, and ending the evening with a cosy campfire and marshmallow toasting under the stars. When it’s time to leave, everyone will carry home treasured memories and newfound confidence, already wishing they could return.
Year 5 students heading to Narmbool and Sovereign Hill will discover Australian history firsthand with a stop at the Eureka Centre. At Sovereign Hill, they’ll immerse themselves in Australia’s gold rush era by panning for gold and exploring historical sites. Meanwhile, Year 6 students travelling to Canberra will explore national landmarks like Parliament House, Questacon, and the Australian War Memorial. The trip will be filled with engaging activities, from bowling and hands-on science at Questacon to enjoying delicious breakfasts, complete with waffles. Each camp offers a blend of learning, team-building, and memorable experiences.
Senior School Camps
Our Senior School camps program is designed to nurture connection, build confidence, and create lasting memories at every stage of a student's journey. Each experience is carefully curated to support personal growth, strengthen relationships, and inspire a sense of adventure.
The Year 7 camp at Golden Valleys, held in Term 1, provides an ideal introduction to Senior School. It is an opportunity for students to form new friendships and develop a strong sense of belonging within their cohort. Through a range of collaborative activities, including the vertical challenge, giant swing, hut building, and low ropes course, students are encouraged to step outside their comfort zones while supporting one another along the way.
In Year 8, students return to Golden Valleys with a renewed sense of confidence and excitement. The program offers fresh challenges and experiences, including a surfing lesson, a hike through the surrounding national park, and an overnight camping experience under the stars. It is a wonderful blend of adventure, independence, and shared experiences.
In conjunction with the Year 9 Impact program, students are empowered to choose from three unique and transformative expeditions. The Far North Queensland Indigenous Homelands Expedition offers deep cultural immersion, as students live with local families, engage in meaningful community service, and learn from Indigenous perspectives and traditions. The Great Southwest Victoria Expedition builds independence and resilience through outdoor pursuits such as abseiling, archery, cycling, and hiking along the Great Ocean Road and in the Grampians. The Cambodia Service Learning Expedition is both eye-opening and rewarding, taking students to significant historical sites including Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields, while also providing the opportunity to partner with a local family in the construction of their home. The Impact Program's expeditions are delivered in partnership with World Expeditions Schools.
The Year 10 camp at Wonga Park, delivered in partnership with Adventure Hub, is an action-packed experience that challenges students both physically and mentally. A full day of white water kayaking is complemented by a rotation of activities including rock climbing, abseiling, cycling, and bush survival and leadership workshops. It is a program designed to foster resilience, teamwork, and self-belief.
The Year 11s will travel to The Summit in Trafalgar, where they take part in some of the most unique and exhilarating camp experiences in Victoria. Through high ropes and water-based activities, students are challenged to demonstrate courage, embrace new experiences, and support one another. The camp strikes a thoughtful balance between fun, leadership, challenge, and connection.
In their final year, Camp Wilkin in Anglesea offers Year 12 students a meaningful opportunity to pause, reflect, and connect. This experience combines memorable activities such as West African drumming and a choice of aquatic and land-based pursuits with purposeful preparation for the year ahead. Students engage in study preparation, career-focused sessions, and hear from inspiring speakers, all while strengthening the bonds that will carry them through their final year and beyond.
FAQs
What year levels take part in outdoor education at Kilvington?
Every student takes part, from Year 3 right through to Year 12. The program runs across both the Junior School and Senior School, with each camp building on the skills and independence developed in the year before.
How does outdoor education connect with the rest of student life at Kilvington?
Outdoor education works alongside programs like the Character Initiative and the Year 9 Impact Program, reinforcing the same focus on resilience, leadership and community that runs through the wider Kilvington experience. It also supports the broader goals of Student Wellbeing, giving students a chance to build confidence and connect with peers outside the classroom.
What skills do students develop through the outdoor education program?
Students build resilience, teamwork, leadership and self-reliance, along with practical skills like navigation, cooking and camp craft that grow more advanced each year. These experiences also feed directly into classroom subjects such as Geography, Science, Photography and English, bringing an added layer of real-world context to what students are learning.
Where do Kilvington's outdoor education camps take place?
Camps are held at locations across Victoria and interstate, including Lake Mountain, Narmbool, Sovereign Hill, Canberra, the Golden Valleys, Wonga Park, The Summit in Trafalgar, and Anglesea, along with the Far North Queensland Indigenous Homelands Expedition, the Great Southwest Victoria Expedition, and the Cambodia Service Learning Expedition for Year 9 students.
Does outdoor education continue right through to Year 12?
Yes. The program culminates in Camp Wilkin in Anglesea, a Year 12 experience that blends bonding activities with study preparation, career-focused sessions and reflection tasks, helping students head into their final year of school with confidence.
How can I find out more about Kilvington's outdoor education program?
The best way to see how outdoor education fits into life at Kilvington is to visit in person. You can book a school tour or explore our Open Events and Tours page for upcoming dates, or get in touch with our enquiries team directly.