The most extreme leadership gap year of your life

We, at Beyond Adventure, believe we offer the most exciting, exhilarating and comprehensive gap year programme today. After spending an average of 4 380 days (12 years) in some sort of educational institution, every young person is faced with one of the biggest questions of their life. What am I going to do now?

This is where the gap year programme comes in. According to the dictionary, a “gap year” is a prolonged period between two major life stages. We believe the Beyond Adventure concept to be unique in South Africa. The concept of extreme education was designed to provide a challenging environment for young people to discover and develop their leadership potential. Leadership deals with direction, vision, purpose and principles. Our programme is designed to meet, challenge and grow the complete individual, body, soul and spirit, as we train tomorrow’s leaders today.

The Beyond Adventure extreme leadership education

The programme was launched on the first of February 2001. Beyond Adventure is situated in Alicedale which is 100km from Port Elizabeth on Bushman Sands Golf Estate. We do a number of our adventure activities on the private Mansfield Game Reserve, 10km from Port Alfred. This is an “exhilarating year of your life” during which young people will discover and develop their leadership potential. It’s the gap year option of the century – a programme filled with vision, purpose, adventure and challenge.

Adventure activities

Extreme - scuba diving, sky diving, bungee jumping, zip line, abseiling, paint ball, hiking, survival, self-defence, archery, basic 4x4 off-road driving and firearm handling. All the Beyond Adventure students will do an Adventure Recreation Association (ARA) Certificate Course and upon qualifying will receive an ARA Phase II E Learner Adventure Activity Facilitators / Leaders certificate. The course includes the following:

•  Hard skills training

   Backpacking/applying basic hiking skills, setting up and operating a camping site. Use and maintain a temporary overnight site, plan and implement minimum impact practices. Leading participants through outdoor recreation and adventure activities. Demonstrate off-road mountain

bike skills. Kayaking: conducting a guided paddling experience, providing support for a guided outdoor adventure experience. Demonstrating and applying climbing skills in a limited range of situations. High and low ropes courses, eco-challenges and adventure racing, first-aid training/first response (ARA).    

•  Soft skills training

Instruction methods, reviewing of experienced-based learning, facilitation techniques, initiative games, trust activities etc.

Extreme tertiary education

In addition to the above, the students will do various business modules preparing them for the corporate environ­ment. 

1. Employment based business and leadership training

Eight courses, for which a separate certificate will be issued for each one successfully completed.

The courses are as follows:

•    Time-management

•    Customer service

•    Teamwork and teambuilding

•    Etiquette in business

•    Business writing

•    Anger management

•    Presentation skills

•    Facilitation skills

2. Ready for success 

This WORK-4aLiving course was developed by the General Motors Foundation. This course prepares individuals for the marketplace. It also provides employed individuals with the skills needed to work to a standard of excellence. It’s designed to motivate and energize people, whether employed or unemployed to raise the standards in their life and to equip them to progress.

3. Let’s Talk Business

This course introduces participants to entrepreneurial activity and the world of small business as a viable career path option in the South African and global context.

For more information visitwww.beyondadventure.co.za