AN outdoor education provider in the Tyne Valley is set to be reopened its doors to Northumberland school pupils.

Currently closed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and restrictions imposed because of it, Kingswood Dukeshouse Wood in Hexham is to change its rules to allow students at the county's schools to benefit from a day trip to the centre, with all the benefits of its usual residential programmes condensed into a one-day programme.

The day trips will begin next year, in line with Government guidance.

The camp, which is situated just south of Hexham, has provided the UK's schools and other groups with unforgettable residential camps for years.

The new adventure days will include all the best, most popular bits from a trip to Kingswood.

They will focus on three key learning outcomes – resilience, confidence and life skills.

Children taking part will still get to experience the thrill of adventure, taking part in high adrenaline outdoor activities such as zip wire, climbing, and abseiling, or learn new skills such as bushcraft.

However, the company say they won’t just get a chance to try activities they may never have done before, as they will also be learning new things about themselves, and developing new skills such as leadership, teamwork, and communication.

Paul Hewitt, general manager of Kingswood Dukeshouse Wood, said: “We’re so excited to bring our team back from furlough and help get children back outdoors through our new educational one-day adventure programmes.

“It’s been a challenging year and while we haven’t been able to operate as usual due to the pandemic.

"We want to ensure locals as well as the schools and groups who have been coming to us for years that we’re not going anywhere and we’re here to continue delivering outdoor educational programmes.

“We’ve seen first hand how transformational time at our centre can be.

"Whether that’s making new friends, character building, helping children become more confident, working as a team and developing vital leadership skills, all of our activities provide a challenge and importantly distil resilience into these young people, which is more important than ever.

“We’re thrilled to be able to now take bookings for our exciting new adventure days and continue to bring fun and laughter to local school children, as well as those slightly further afield.”

Schools and groups will be able to choose from one of three varied programmes based on their needs.

Kingswood’s team building package focuses on communication and problem solving, the rural survival offering is centred around bushcraft, or there is high adrenaline which has been designed to push children out of their comfort zones to build on their self-esteem and empathy towards others.

Schools will continue to operate in their own bubbles and will be given a designated room to limit unnecessary contact with others.

They will also be provided with a special toolkit to utilise before and after their visit to measure just how much pupils’ confidence and resilience has grown from their experience.

Centres will be open for the new adventure days, priced from £35pp, from February.