Tories make outdoor activity call

The Tories want outdoor activity to be part of the core curriculum

The Scottish Conservatives have called for all teenagers to be given the right to outdoor education, such as climbing, hiking, sailing and abseiling.

They want pupils between the age of 11 and 15 to have access to a one-week residential course.

The Tories say 53,000 youngsters a year would be eligible - and the �8.5m it would cost could come from government and private donors.

Teachers' leaders said there would be a risk of accidents and legal action.

Early signs suggest the scheme may win cross-party support.

Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "I think this should be part of the core curriculum, not just something extra that's offered in schools.

They're always talking about trying to inspire the youth of today and giving people some values to cling onto Gavin Hastings Former rugby international

"I don't think this is happening just now.

"I think it is a bit of a postcode lottery for some schools whether children do have this opportunity or not and therefore we believe it is absolutely vital that every pupil gets an opportunity."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We want the opportunities for young people to participate in a range of outdoor education.

"The draft experiences and outcomes for Curriculum for Excellence which have been released over the course of this school year contain rich opportunities for schools to use outdoor education and outdoor learning to achieve the outcomes sought.

"We are setting up strategic advisory group to explore creative ways of delivering outdoor education, sharing good examples across the country and encouraging schools to provide more outdoor education opportunities."

Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis accused the Tories of stealing their proposal.

He said: "The idea of making sure that children get outdoor activity during their time at secondary school is as fantastic an idea as it was when the Liberal Democrats proposed it in our manifesto.

"It's only taken the Tories a year to cotton on. It is heartening that the Tories are finally seeing the positives of outdoor education."

David Eaglesham, the general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA), said: "It's liable to put a burden on teachers which is not a reasonable one for them to sustain.

"Very often teachers are left to be responsible for the activities that young people are undertaking. In some cases they are not fully qualified for that and they're not fully prepared for it.

"There's always a danger that if anything goes wrong, no matter how minor, that the teachers will end up being blamed."

However, former rugby international Gavin Hastings has backed the scheme. He said: "They're always talking about trying to inspire the youth of today and giving people some values to cling onto.

"I think in this day and age it's so important that that's the case, so hopefully we'll see businesses and these entrepreneurs coming on board and just supporting this initiative - I think it's worth supporting."

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