berkshire outdoor education trust
Hertford
The Berkshire Outdoor Education Trust was founded in 1977/78. The original
purpose of the Trust was to locate and operate an Outdoor Education Centre for
the use of Berkshire school children. The Trust was started with the active
encouragement and support of Berkshire County Council and its then Director of
Education, Peter Edwards and the late John Wood Griffiths an officer in the
Berkshire Education department. The Trustees raised and borrowed the money to
buy an existing centre from Glamorgan County Council in the small settlement of
Rhos y Gwaliau in the Snowdonia National Park, close to the market town of Bala.
In the early years Berkshire County Council paid the teachers’ salaries and gave
an annual grant towards the other teaching equipment that was needed, mainly
protective clothing. The Trustees managed the centre, hired and paid the
domestic and maintenance staff and settled all other expenses including food and
heating costs out of the fees charged to attendees. With teachers’ salaries paid
by the LEA the additional amount needed to be charged to pupils was quite
modest. Over time, however, the level of subsidy given by the County Council was
reduced and when in 1998 the 6 Unitary Councils replaced the County Council the
subsidy was phased out completely. In consequence fees had to rise considerably.
It was at this point that the Trustees decided to sell the centre to the present
owner, who had been a teacher at the centre for some time previously. The trust
then invested the proceeds of sale and now use the income to assist the most
financially disadvantaged young people in the County enjoy the benefits and
experience of time spent in outdoor educational activity.
