Hampshire Country School (HCS) students, ages 10-14 completed a three-day, two-night bike and camp adventure on Cape Cod in late May. Throughout the year, students have built skills in biking with an emphasis on communication to minimize risks. In addition to riding for fun, students, buffered by faculty, used bikes for transportation to and from educational resources on the Cape, including the Museum of Natural History, Nauset Lighthouse, and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. 

Shifting to more experiential methods and embracing a weekly outdoor learning day have been consistent goals throughout the 2021-2022 school year. This trip allowed students to combine several strengths and interests with the challenges of large group camping. Students were also able to choose their level of challenge by opting in and out of some of the biking to manage the number of miles they committed to. This served to expand each student’s perception of what they are capable of well beyond where they began the school year, a challenge for HCS students who often enter HCS with little to no distress tolerance. 

Early in its 74-year history, it was typical for an HCS student to complete a longer multi-day excursion or adventure during the year. Students of that era were also more well-versed in outdoor adventure skills. Our current students not only live in a more screen-oriented world prior to HCS, but this particular group of students has had fewer opportunities for off-campus exposure as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. HCS will definitely continue to embed these experiences into their school year program.

Hampshire Country School (HCS) is a 10-month boarding school in southern New Hampshire for high-ability, neurodiverse boys enrolling in later elementary or middle school. HCS offers understanding, light-heartedness, and structure to educate boys in a family-style, supportive, and collaborative learning community. For more information: http://www. hampshirecountryschool.org