You can now download this years application form for the Summer Expeditions from the documents section of the site. For more information on the expeditions visit the Courses >Expeditions page.

                        1st place           Barlow HS      

                        2nd place           Burnage HS     

                        3rd place           Trinity HS, Abraham Moss HS

Once again the standard of competition was remarkably high.  All the young people rose to the challenges that were presented and gave 100% effort.  We retained the usual format with a navigation exercise on Friday evening when the teams were sent off into the darkness unaccompanied, to make their way to a rendezvous on the far side of the hill.  On Saturday each team of ten had to reach a mountain summit despite the difficulties presented by the weather.  Saturday evening was taken up with a team problem solving exercise, followed by planning for the following day.  This involved choosing, from a long list of problem solving activities, which activities they would attempt in order to score maximum points.  Sunday proved to be a very tiring day with the pressure to complete the problems as quickly as possible in order to move on to the next activity.

Points were awarded for success in the activities, good teamwork, behaviour around the house, sportsmanship and the ability to socialise with the other groups.

There are certificates of achievement for all who took part, but there is also a trophy, to be retained for the year, which will be presented to the winning team.

Thanks to all of the members of staff who gave up their time to bring the students to the Centre and well done to all of the students involved.

2007 was an exciting year for us with the new improvements to the Centre as well as our 40th Anniversary.

We said goodbye to two valued members of staff both Paul and Lucy have left to have adventures in far off places, with Lucy going to Canada and closer to home with Paul heading up to Scotland.

We welcome two new members of Staff, Mel Sugden who started in October and Lisa Whetter who will hopefully be starting in the next term both very experienced teachers who have been working in outdoors for many years.

The Centre bookings are looking very good for the year ahead though there are still a few places available up until the summer, if you are thinking of booking for the Autumn term its worth getting in touch early to avoid disappointment.

Finally 2008 will mark the end of an era for the Centre with Dave Rogers the long standing Head of Centre due to retire in August, we wont let him disappear without a good send off so keep your eyes open for more news later on in the year.

The Bird camera has now been re-sited and is back online, it has 8 new pre set views. We have already seen a Lesser spotted woodpecker on one of the hangers. If you are viewing the cameras and see something of interest why not save a snapshot using the button provided and send us an e-mail.

We have the following National governing body awards courses and general Adult skills courses running in 2008.

These courses always prove popular and usually fill up quickly so please book early to avoid disappointment

All are based in the Bungalow with the exception of the February Hill walking course that is based in the Main House.

• 15th-17th 2008 February Hill Walking Weekend
• 30th March- 5th April Mountain Leader Training
• 30th March- 5th April Mountain Leader Assessment
• 30th March- 2nd April Walking Group Leader Training
• 27th-29th June Introduction to Sailing Weekend
• 27th-29th June Single Pitch Award

15-17 February 2008 

New Year's resolution to get fit?   Have an enjoyable weekend of healthy exercise at Manchester City Council's Outdoor Centre on the side of Lake Windermere. 

Beginners or experts - a choice of walks will be available.  Come along and just enjoy the walks or practice navigation skills and learn how to journey safely on the hills.

Good food and accommodation.  Rucksacks, boots, waterproof jackets and trousers are available.

All inclusive cost £92 per head.

You can download an application form from the documents page.

South Manchester City Learning Centre are once again running their annual schools film competition. Previous years winners have included Didsbury primary who included a lot of footage of their visit to Ghyll Head.

If you are visiting the Centre this year why not bring your video cameras and use our inspirational venues in your productions.

Dont have the equipment ?

Not to worry Ghyll Head has a digital video camera as well as waterproof digital stills cameras that can be taken out on activities. Our ICT suites are all fitted with the fantastic revelation sight & sound software that makes video editing a breeze. To see some of the productions that students have made at the centre visit our Video Gallery .

We still have three weekends available in November for the main house.They are as follows.

• 9th-11th November
• 16th-18th November
• 23rd-25th November

For bookings please phone 015394 43751

1967 was a good year for Outdoor Education. Not only did Manchester city council have the vision to setup Ghyll Head but both North and South Tyneside authorities each setup their own residential outdoor centres in the form of High Borrans and Thurston OEC .

To mark 40 years of residential outdoor education in the Lake District the three centres ran a combined event the Tri County Tournament. This involved a team of students from each of the counties taking part in a weekend of adventure and co-operation. Manchester was represented by a team of year 11 students from Trinity High School.

The course was based at High Borrans and started on the Friday afternoon with mixed authority teams presented with a number of problem solving challenges around the grounds. The students integrated very quickly and you would not have known they were from three different authorities. After the evening meal they took part in an orienteering competition that found some groups finishing in the dark. The following two days saw each of the teams undertake ghyll scrambling, canoeing and abseiling challenges. To finish off each of the groups created a presentation of their experiences over the weekend. It was very obvious from the presentations that the weekend had been a huge a success and it was a sad moment when they had to say their goodbyes.

All who took part agreed that this should be an annual event and we are already looking into dates for next year.