Liz Smith's plan to give all secondary pupils in state schools a week of residential outdoor education has attracted considerable cross party interest and at a time when agreement across the partisan divide in Scottish and UK politics is rather rare. The Scottish Conservative MSP introduced her Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill in June just before the Holyrood recess with the legislation to be examined by the Scottish Parliament's education committee this autumn. Ms Smith, who is the Scottish Conservative's finance spokeswoman and a former teacher, said that residential outdoor education "when young people can be away for a week in an environment very far removed from their own, can be life-changing.
" She stated: "I want to ensure that the outdoor education opportunities I was fortunate enough to enjoy will still be there for generations to come. "Adventurous new experiences in the outdoors develop young people with a lifelong connection and concern for the natural environment , self-esteem, self-reliance, confidence, resilience and an understanding of how to deal with new challenges and manage risk. It also helps young people to know what it means to be part of a team, to learn leadership skills and the importance of valuing friendship.
" Like Ms Smith I was lucky at secondary school, in my case at Friends School in Lisburn, County Antrim, to have many opportunities learning about the great outdoors. From outward bound residentials in County Down, weeken.