Peak experiences

PLC Armidale’s new Explore Serve Journey uses character-building rites of passage to bring together service, personal growth and outdoor education.

Story Ken Eastwood  Photos Amanda Burney

Teenage girls need to go through a series of challenging and transformational ‘rites of passage’ as they mature, according to staff at PLC Armidale. In 2023 the New England girls’ school revamped its outdoor education and service programs to create such a series of peak events.

“For many years I have had an interest as a principal in transformational experiences in mid-adolescence to navigate through what can be quite challenging years,” principal Nicola Taylor says. “PLC Armidale has a long history and culture of social service and we are longstanding top providers of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, but we wanted to weave it all together so there’s a series of rites of passage.”

Outdoor educator Amanda Burney was assigned the task of designing the new Explore Serve Journey program, which has at its core a 28-day, isolated live-in program for year 9. “In year 9 they’re really transitioning from one stage to the next,” Amanda says. “They’re going from girls to young women. In many cultures around the world, they would have rites of passage experiences at that age, and they’re not really prevalent in today’s society.”

Amanda says research has shown that times of difficulty and challenge are among the components to bring about transformational change in teenage girls, particularly in terms of independence and social dynamics. “We’re trying to cultivate an environment that allows students to progress through the stages of transformation so they come out more independent, confident, resilient and comfortable with who they are.”

During the 28-day program, the pupils have no phones or access to the outside world and don’t undertake their usual extracurricular activities such as team sports. Instead, they focus on living in a community and completing a series of challenging tasks.