Level 3 Outdoor Pursuits (L3OED)

Overview

The Level 3 Outdoor Pursuits Course is our flagship course designed for students who want to perform at a high level in Outdoor Pursuits. 

There is an emphasis on students acquiring the judgement and skills to be able to act with independence in the outdoors. There is a strong theme of personal adventure and most course modules are supported by an extended adventurous trip where the students can apply their learning whilst under direct supervision. 

Students are assessed against a combination of NZQA Achievement Standards and Unit Standards in Outdoor Recreation. 

What will I learn?

Students in the Level 3 OP course will have opportunities develop physical skills in a range of outdoor activities, as well as to learn and apply knowledge of group management, leadership, safety planning and evaluation.  

The practical pursuits will likely include:

• Kayaking: Students learn the skills to be independent whilst kayaking on Grade 2 rivers, culminating in an assessment trip to the Upper Shotover River or Pukaki River. Extracurricular opportunities to learn the kayak roll are available early in Term One. Alternative river craft such as rafts and inflatable kayaks are also available to use. 

• Rock-climbing: Includes lead climbing, safe descents, belays and anchors. This module may include a climbing trip to alpine rock at Mount Cook. 

• Skiing and Snowboarding: A 6-week training and assessment course at Treble Cone. 

  • Alpine Skills:  Students are offered an option to learn Alpine skills as an alternative to doing snowsports. This entails a weekly training session on the skifields, and an option to do an overnight alpine trip. 

Note: Actual programme may vary depending on availability of specialist instructors and access to specialist equipment. 

Learning takes place through a mixture of theory and practical instruction sessions, classroom discussion and individual research. One afternoon per week is allocated to practical lessons. There are several (optional) extended trips during the year, so a strong commitment to the course is required.

What should have been done already?

It is helpful to have prior outdoor experience, such as completing an OP course in Year 12, but there are no formal course pre-requisites.  We are able to provide challenge and extension for those students with existing skills and experience, as well as offer instruction at an introductory level for students new to any particular pursuit. 

We start the year with a whitewater kayaking programme, and it is desirable (though not essential) to have some kayaking experience. It is really helpful to know how to kayak roll prior to starting the course, but instruction in this skill will be offered (optional evening clinics) by our kayak instructors. 

How do I apply for a place in Outdoor Pursuits?

There are limited places available to do Outdoor Pursuits at MAC as class numbers and sized are limited to ensure we can offer a safe programme. 

Students who wish to be considered for a place in an OP class need to select it as a preferred course in their subject choices. If we need to select students who will be offered places in L3OP then we will consider things such as aptitude for OP, fortnightly grade trends, attendance data, pastoral records and performance other school EOTC events (including L2OP if they are doing that course). 

Sometimes timetable constraints may also prevent a student from doing OP. 

We recognise that Year 13 is the last opportunity for students to do an OP course so we will strive to give a place to every student who has not previously done an OP course. 

Assessment outline