Key Stage 4 PE · Outdoor and adventurous activities

KS4 PE: outdoor and adventurous activities, a guide for parents

In Years 10 and 11, PE asks pupils to take part in further outdoor and adventurous activities in a range of environments that present intellectual and physical challenges and encourage teamwork, trust and problem-solving, either individually or as a group. It also asks them to tackle complex and demanding physical activities. These lessons build on Key Stage 3, with more independence, more responsibility and harder challenges.

Outdoor and adventurous activities, explained

The curriculum does not list particular activities. It describes the kind of experience pupils should have: outdoor and adventurous activities, in different environments, that challenge the mind as well as the body, and that make pupils work together and rely on each other. Schools choose what to offer. Common choices include orienteering and navigation, hill or woodland walking, climbing, canoeing or kayaking, camping, mountain biking and team problem-solving tasks. What is possible depends on location, staffing and budget, so experiences vary a lot between schools.

“A range of environments” means that pupils should not only meet these activities on the school field. It might be a local park or woodland, a hill or moorland, a river or lake with a qualified instructor, or a residential trip. Each environment has different demands. Weather changes, terrain is uneven and there is no teacher at hand with a whistle, so pupils have to plan, adapt and carry out their decisions. Many schools run outdoor activities as day trips or residentials, and some may ask for a contribution to the cost, so it is worth asking about help with fees if that is a worry.

The intellectual challenge is real. Pupils plan routes, read maps, estimate times, choose clothing and kit, check the weather, assess risks and decide what to do if conditions change. Physical challenge comes from distance, climbing, carrying equipment, paddling or simply being outdoors for a long time. Teenagers are expected to lead, with a pupil acting as navigator, timekeeper or team leader, and to make decisions with a group rather than be told what to do at every step.

Teamwork and trust sit at the heart of the objective. Group tasks, such as moving everyone across a marked area using only limited equipment, or completing an orienteering course together, require listening, sharing ideas and respecting different strengths. In activities such as climbing, trust is literal, because one pupil depends on another to manage a rope correctly under the instructor’s supervision. Trust is built by doing things properly, communicating clearly and following the safety rules.

Safety is taken very seriously. Activities are planned with a written risk assessment, led or overseen by suitably qualified staff or instructors, and pupils are briefed on rules, kit and what to do in an emergency. Parents usually give consent and medical information in advance. These lessons are not about taking risks for their own sake, but about learning to recognise risk and manage it sensibly, which is a skill that matters well beyond school.

Words your child will hear

Navigation: Finding your way from one place to another using a map, a compass and landmarks.
Scale: The link between distance on the map and distance on the ground. At 1:25,000, 1 cm on the map is 250 m on the ground.
Contour lines: Lines on a map joining places of the same height. Lines close together mean a steep slope.
Grid reference: A set of numbers that gives the exact position of a place on a map.
Bearing: A direction measured in degrees clockwise from north, used with a compass.
Risk assessment: Thinking ahead about what could go wrong, how likely it is and what to do to reduce the danger.
Leadership: Guiding a group towards a goal by listening, making decisions and supporting others.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 4 says:

Pupils should be taught to take part in further outdoor and adventurous activities in a range of environments which present intellectual and physical challenges and which encourage pupils to work in a team, building on trust and developing skills to solve problems, either individually or as a group
Pupils should tackle complex and demanding physical activities.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: planning a day-walk route from a map

A group of Year 10 pupils is planning a walk with a teacher. On a 1:25,000 map the route measures 24 cm along the paths, and it crosses 30 contour lines going uphill, with the lines 10 m apart in height. Roughly how long will the walk take?

Work out the distance. At 1:25,000, 1 cm on the map is 25,000 cm on the ground, which is 250 m. So 24 cm is 24 × 250 = 6,000 m, or 6 km.
Work out the climb. Thirty contour lines at 10 m apart is 30 × 10 = 300 m of total ascent.
Estimate the time with a rule of thumb. A common rule for walkers allows 1 hour for every 5 km, plus 1 minute for every 10 m climbed. For 6 km that is 6 ÷ 5 = 1.2 hours, which is 72 minutes. For 300 m of climb it is 300 ÷ 10 = 30 minutes. Together that is 72 + 30 = 102 minutes, which is 1 hour 42 minutes.
Add realism. The rule is only a guide for fit adults walking steadily. A group moves at the pace of its slowest member and needs rest, snack and navigation stops, so allow around two hours, and more in poor weather or on rough ground.
Plan the safety. Check the forecast, agree the kit list, decide on turn-back times, identify an easier route in case conditions change and make sure someone not on the walk knows the plan.

The route is 6 km with 300 m of climbing, which the rule estimates at about 1 hour 42 minutes of walking. With breaks the group should plan for around 2 hours and write down a turn-back time and a shorter alternative.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking outdoor activities are just a day out and not “proper” PE

They are less like a traditional lesson, and the setting and the lack of scores can make them feel like a treat.

What helps: Explain the learning: planning, leading, teamwork, decision-making and fitness. The skills involved are demanding, and they carry over into work and everyday life.

Expecting the strongest or most confident person to do everything

Groups often hand over decisions to whoever is loudest or fittest.

What helps: Encourage your teenager to take a defined role and to ask others for their ideas. In a good team, everyone contributes something different, such as navigation, encouragement, organisation or calm thinking.

Believing a phone map makes map reading unnecessary

Phones are always in pockets, so they feel more reliable than a paper map and compass.

What helps: Batteries die, signal disappears and screens are hard to read in rain. Map and compass skills are a back-up that teachers want pupils to have, and they teach spatial thinking too.

Seeing risk assessment as paperwork that spoils the fun

Rules and briefings can seem like fussing, especially for teenagers who feel capable.

What helps: Explain that risk assessment is what makes adventurous activities possible. Ask your teenager what could go wrong on a planned trip and how they would deal with it.

How to help at home

Plan a family walk from a map. Choose a local park, woodland or country path and let your teenager plan the route on a paper map, working out the distance from the scale and a rough time. Walk it together, with your child leading and you following.
Make a kit list and check the weather. Ask your teenager to decide what to carry for a day out: water, snacks, a waterproof layer, a small first aid kit and a charged phone. Packing sensibly for the conditions is an important outdoor skill.
Practise a team challenge. Set a challenge for the family in the garden or living room, such as moving a bucket of soft toys from one side of a marked area to the other without anyone stepping inside it, using only a rope and a few cushions or boxes. Talk afterwards about how you made decisions.
Let them lead. Ask your teenager to organise an outing, from the route and the timings to the snacks and the plan if it rains. Practising leadership with the family is a low-risk way to build confidence.
Keep it safe. Stay on paths and in places you know, keep away from open water and busy roads, and always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back. If your teenager goes out with friends rather than with you, agree the route, timings and a check-in first.

Builds on

Key Stage 3: Outdoor and adventurous activities

Everything in Key Stage 4 PE

Updated 20 October 2026.