“I had the best time and completed activities I never thought I would have been able to”
Caving, rock climbing, gorge walking and jumping from waterfalls were all on the agenda for our annual Public Services Level 3 Call of the Wild trip to Abercraf, Wales.
Second year students travelled to Wales in early March for the adventure packed trip, which forms part of their Teamwork & Leadership module and Outdoor and the Adventurous expeditions unit.
Students are given the opportunity to challenge themselves with activities that may be out of their comfort zones, which in turn helps them develop their employability skills such as teamwork and leadership skills.
Many of the students were nervous before embarking on the challenges, especially as many will never have camped or read maps before, but they all thoroughly enjoyed the trip and would jump at the chance of doing it again.
Student Alex Wright said: “I achieved confidence and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I enjoyed rock climbing the most as I pushed myself to the top and even though it wasn’t that high it was still a challenge to get up. I found caving difficult as it was very tight and the whole time I was thinking I was going to get stuck. Trying to get warm and then keep warm when camping was the most difficult part of the trip, but I enjoyed Wales and the activities so much I would definitely go again if I could.”
Fellow student Amy Nicholls also found camping hard due to the cold weather, but said she enjoyed “caving as it was out of my comfort zone and fun and gorge walking as we had a good laugh and jumping in was frightening but fun. It was something I was dreading due to being nervous about all the activities, but I had the best time and completed activities I never thought I would have been able to.”
After completing the Public Services Level 3 students go onto further studies in law and criminology and law enforcement related courses at university, or directly into the Police or protective services via degree apprenticeships.
