Grade 8 Leadership / Adventure Course

As part of the Pupil Development Programme at Glenwood, pupils are afforded the opportunity to attend Leadership Courses every year of their high school career. In the past, venues such as Burman Bush, T.O. Strand, Shongweni and the Drakensberg have been used for the various grades.

Thanks to the involvement of Colonel Pat Acutt and the Natal Mounted Rifles, the school was able to obtain the necessary permission to use the Bluff Military base, and the small-arms firing range in particular. The association with the NMR goes back nearly seventy years to 1936 when Glenwood was first affiliated to the Regiment. During WW II many Old Boys served and died whilst serving with the Regiment in both North Africa and Italy. The close links are maintained to this day through the School Band and the Annual Shooting Competition.

The purpose of the course was threefold: firstly to help the learners settle in at high school by making new friends; secondly to develop some leadership skills and thirdly, to make the learners more aware of the SANDF. The course succeeded in all three aims.

After a welcome by RSM Alexander of the NMR on the sportsfield, the learners took off on a five kilometre route march to the shooting range. After much frustration and learning from mistakes, the tents were eventually pitched. The programme was then explained to the boys. Over the next three days, several venues around the military base would have to be visited and tasks completed.

These venues covered a variety of topics including gun safety, backwoods cooking, beach olympics, the history of Durban from a military point of view, marine conservation including the history of whaling, touch-rugby, soccer, volleyball, swimming and leadership exercises. A healthy balance between education, physical exercise and enjoyment was thus achieved. In addition a