Outward Bound is about building stronger communities by inspiring the new generation.

Outward Bound's combined schools regional community partnerships are a strategic initiative designed to foster growth in communities of regional Australia, and allows not only the youth of the area but the whole community to benefit from an Outward Bound program.

Outward Bound's Combined Schools program initiative began in 2003, linking communities and schools across the Upper and Lower Hunter Valley, with the support of the Coal & Allied Community Trust. Combined Schools programs have grown through Outward Bound Regional Community Partnerships to include Central West NSW, Mildura/Suraysia (VIC), Northern NSW, Southern NSW, South East NSW, Sydney, Newcastle/Central Coast (NSW), and WA.

With the Regional Partnerships programs now firmly established, and approximately 2500 young people from regional communities participating, there now exists the opportunity to build on the success of the Solid Foundations program expanding into South East Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, followed by South Australia, Tasmania and Northern Australia. This outdoor education initiative can be complimented by the addition of leadership development in young people through Outward Bound's Aspiring Leaders Program, Pinnacle, Catalyst, Navigator, Family and Summit to Sea Programs as well as Outward Bound's exclusive Trained Leaders Internship Program.

Outward Bound Australia's vision for this program is to foster the development of the youth of rural and regional Australia by providing experiential learning opportunities which provide a catalyst to help our young people develop important life skills. In partnership with communities, schools and sponsors, these programs have enormous potential to work at the root cause of many of our most problematic social issues.

The elements learned on an Outward Bound course are all critical life skills for young people growing up in regional or marginalised areas, who lack access to the same opportunities that most of their peers in the city have.

At the conclusion of each program Outward Bound performs research and analysis on participant feedback and provides learning outcome results through Life Effectiveness Questionnaires. Results from formal evaluation of these programs have been very encouraging. They are above the average of Outward Bound's other programs' indicating a significant change in lifelong learning results and positive learning solutions.

If you would like to know more about outdoor education, our regional or community partnerships or are interested in beginning such an initiative in your region, please contact our