In conversation with Sarah Tsiquaye, Forest School Lead
Forest School is often one of the highlights of the week for our pupils. They love building dams in the stream, making objects from natural clay, climbing trees, creating dens in the woodland and searching for bugs beneath stones and stumps.
To them, it feels like adventure. To us, it is also where we see curiosity, confidence, and independent learning developing in a very natural way.
Looking from the outside at the benefits of Forest School, these moments may look like simple outdoor play, but at The Downs Malvern, we see something much deeper. We see self-esteem, curiosity, risk taking and resilience being built through real child-led exploration in the natural environment.
Childhood should still feel adventurous and imaginative. Not rushed, reckless or over-managed, but full of opportunities to explore, wonder, take risks, make mistakes and, most importantly, try again.
The Shrunken Horizon: Why Today’s Children Need Adventure
Whether through rose-tined spectacles or not, many parents will recall a childhood that felt freer. It seemed as though there was ample time to climb, build, roam, get muddy and return home with stories to tell. Today, children’s lives can feel more structured, more supervised and more screen-filled than ever before.
That is why building resilience in children through child-led outdoor play matters so much. Forest School is not a step away from education. It is a vital part of helping children develop holistically the confidence, stamina and self-belief they need in every area of school life.
In Forest School, pupils learn by doing. They discover that a dam will only hold if it is built carefully. They find that a den needs teamwork and patience. They learn that wet clay sticks things together, uneven ground and tree roots require care and attention. These are small moments, but the lessons they teach are huge.
Unstructured Freedom: What Real Forest School Looks Like
A genuine Forest School is not a novelty, or a one-off trip into nature, but a regular experience through all the seasons where children build familiarity and an appreciation of the outdoor environment over time.
At The Downs Malvern, Forest School gives pupils the freedom to explore and take managed risks within clear and reassuring boundaries. They know the rules, including the memorable “no picky, no licky”, and they understand that freedom comes with responsibility.
Tree Climbing and Learning to Fail Safely
Tree climbing is often one of the things children love most. In our shaded “swamp area”, pupils test their strength, judgement and courage as they move through the tangle of trees and the old goat willow.
This kind of managed risk is important. Children learn how to judge what feels safe, how to choose the right branches, how to use their bodies carefully and how to try again if something feels difficult. Although they are supervised, they are not rescued from every challenge but encouraged to make sensible decisions.
Over time, that builds real self-belief. A child who reaches a branch they could not manage before does not need a speech about resilience. They can feel the success for themselves.
The Magic of Loose Parts
Some of the richest discovery begins with the simplest materials. A fallen branch, a length of rope, a patch of clay or a few logs by the stream can quickly become the starting point for a den, a bridge, a dam or an imaginary home.
This kind of play encourages children to think creatively because there is no single correct answer. They have to experiment, adapt, talk things through and learn from what happens next. A group trying to build a shelter soon discovers that the strongest ideas are often shared ones.
Beyond the Trees: How the Outdoors Feeds the Classroom
Boosting Concentration, Language, and Motivation
Time outdoors in nature gives children real experiences to draw upon. A pupil who has built a dam, spotted insects beneath a log, made an animal home or watched smoke rise from a carefully laid fire has a rich bank of sights, sounds and sensations to bring back into the classroom.
This matters for language and confidence, and children often speak more freely when they are describing something they have genuinely experienced, and their writing becomes more vivid because it is rooted in memory rather than imagination alone.
Outdoor learning also gives pupils a valuable reset and they often return to the classroom more settled and ready to focus. The woods are far from a distraction from learning. They enhance the holistic development of the children. They help children return to their desks with sharper minds and a fuller appreciation of the world around them.
Building Life Skills on the Smallholding and the Playing Field
The importance of co-curricular activities in prep schools is that they give children many different ways to discover who they are. At The Downs Malvern, our outdoor setting, smallholding, games fields and wider programme all help pupils develop practical skills, confidence and a sense of belonging.
Forest School plays an important part in this. Children use palm drills and peelers to whittle, creating simple woodcraft items such as necklaces or decorations made from natural materials taken from the site. They learn to handle tools carefully and confidently. They search for bugs beneath stones and stumps. They lay fires and light them using flint and steel, and enjoy cooking together outdoors, whether they are toasting marshmallows, fruit or another well-earned treat.
Reassurance for Parents: Balancing Risk with Safety
Learning to Step Back
It is natural for parents to feel nervous when they see their child climbing, getting muddy or pushing their physical boundaries. Our role is to make sure those experiences are carefully supervised, thoughtfully managed and appropriate for each child.
One pupil who joined Forest School was initially very reluctant to touch anything muddy or messy; they wore gloves for bug hunting, used a pot and magnifying glass, and visited the wash station frequently during each session.
Over several weeks, they began to explore more independently. Gradually, they became comfortable moving stumps, searching for bugs and eventually handling natural materials without gloves, and by the end of the term, mud was no longer something to avoid. It had become part of the adventure!
That is what confidence often looks like. Not a dramatic transformation overnight, but a quiet series of small steps.
At The Downs Malvern, our staff know when to guide, when to reassure and when to step back. During each session, pupils also take a mindful minute, closing their eyes and appreciating the environment around them. It is a simple routine, but it helps children pause, listen and feel connected to the world they are exploring.
Discover a More Adventurous Education
At The Downs Malvern, we passionately believe that school days should be happy, active days filled with shared memories. Our Forest School, unique smallholding and nurturing countryside campus help pupils build confidence, independence, resilience and character in ways that last far beyond the school day.
If you would like to see how an adventurous education can help your child thrive, we invite you to contact our Admissions Team to book a personal tour with our Headmaster.