Schools resume height-based activities in Singapore, with fewer participants

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Schools resume height-based activities in Singapore, with fewer participants

SINGAPORE: Schools in Singapore resumed height-based activities but with a lower capacity after a near two-year suspension due to a fatal incident during a camp programme.

The activities like the zipline, abseil station, climbing wall and tower circuit at the Jalan Bahtera Outdoor Adventure Learning Centre were at 50 per cent or less of normal capacity, with more time allocated for students to participate in each activity.

The ministry of education MOE said that the reduced tempo will be in place at all activity sites until Mar 31, to allow time for instructors to ease into their roles safely.

Bao-Anh Nguyen, 15, of Gan Eng Seng School, said she had been looking forward to the activities.

She said that I was not scared, but more like excited because we are in a new class and we need to get to know our classmates after tackling the tower circuit.

The students in Secondary 3 were at Jalan Bahtera for a three day camp. Around 30 per cent of the cohort, or 80 students, got to try out the height-based activities for the first time since they were suspended in February 2021 - after a 15-year-old student died during a rope course at SAFRA Yishun.

The instructors' guidance was very reassuring to us because they made us trust them and they were there for us, Bao-Anh said.

I think we feel very safe, because our equipment is very correct, our helmets are properly put on and our harnesses are very adamant. She said they were checked at least three to four times before starting their runs.

Each class was divided into two groups of 20 students, with one mentor attached to each group.