News Detail
Beyond the Gates: Week Without Walls
For the second year in a row, all of Shawnigan’s Grade 9 students ventured off campus for several days at the end of the year to learn more about the natural environment of Vancouver Island – and about themselves. And the School set an unofficial West Coast Trail record in the process
It is the Week Without Walls, the capstone of Shawnigan’s Beyond the Gates program, one of the School’s foundational experiential learning programs. Beyond the Gates was launched with a small group of Grade 9s in 2021, but has grown exponentially. In 2025, the capstone experience expanded to include every student in that age group, with most venturing into the Vancouver Island backcountry and a smaller group staying closer to home. Once again, all Grade 9 students – 61 in total – took part in the Week Without Walls.
Two groups of about 10 students each hiked the entire West Coast Trail that covers 75 kilometres on the rugged outer edge of Vancouver Island, and another two groups hiked half of that trail. Two more groups of 10 apiece kayaked the Broken Group Islands. The remaining 16 students spent four days at Camp Pringle, a short distance away from the School on the west shore of Shawnigan Lake, and one additional day engaging in activities on campus.
According to Carl Edgar, who has been operating the Crabshack on Nitinat Narrows for more than 50 years, the 41 students from Shawnigan represented the largest delegation from a single school in one season. Mr. Edgar also commended the Shawnigan students for their kindness and positive attitudes and noted that they are more than just hikers passing through but also proper “trail citizens.”
“The hikers carried everything on their backs: food, garbage,” Outdoor Education Coordinator Ms. Jessica Dick noted. “That taught them aspects of sustainability.”
The hikers dealt with several rainy days, but they didn’t let that get them down.
“The group mentality was that soggy days don’t make for a soggy attitude,” Ms. Dick said. “Seeing them pick each other up when they were slow or wet – it was different this year.”
The kayakers, who were coordinated by outdoor education instructor and teacher Mr. Devin Ryan, dealt with big winds and big waves during their expedition, and one group had to return via water taxi for safety reasons.
“In the end, what matters is keeping the kids safe,” Ms. Dick said.
“Students came back from backcountry trips feeling overwhelmingly positive about their time off campus in nature, away from their cell phones, connecting with people they don’t always talk to on campus,” added Ms. Emily Coolidge, the Heimbecker Inspiration Chair for Experiential Education, who oversees the Beyond the Gates program. “That’s one of the benefits of having students engage in a challenge they didn’t know they enjoyed until after.”
Last year, students who opted out of the backcountry trips remained on campus for the Week Without Walls, but this year, Shawnigan worked with Camp Pringle and hired counsellors to guide the students through an experience that included canoe skills, archery, low ropes course, climbing wall, and knot-tying. Back on campus, they did plant identification, light hiking, rope-making and learned about biodiversity in sea creatures. They also did a full day of wellness activities with School Counsellor Ms. Jennifer Tully, an introduction to the things the Well-Being Centre has to offer as well as some tangible skills they can use in their daily lives, and learned about food and shelter with Indigenous Community Engagement Coordinator Mr. Clay Panga, which included fishing and setting up a Métis tipi donated to the School by Beverley Pollock.
Organizers of the Week Without Walls also worked with Ms. Tully to develop a game that all seven groups were able to play, which focused on eight points based on the letters in the word “discover” – the key word for Grade 9 in the Shawnigan Journey.
• Develop Strong Teams and Kind Connections
• Investigate with Curiosity and Care
• Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
• Connect to Place and People
• Overcome Challenges with Resilience
• View the World Through Other Eyes
• Explore Your Passions and Purpose
• Relate Learning to the Real World
The students participated eagerly in the game and opened up to their classmates.
“They were in a position where they felt comfortable enough to share with the full group,” Ms. Dick said.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 12 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
