Bounce Beyond
Bounce Beyond is a six-lesson curriculum that helps pupils prepare for, practise and reflect on their PGL residential through psychological fitness.
Before the residential, pupils build emotional readiness and learn practical skills to understand feelings, manage nerves, think flexibly and challenge unhelpful beliefs.
During the residential, they use these skills in real adventure activities where they experience challenge, connection, courage and growth. Back in school, pupils reflect on what they learned, recognise personal progress and create plans to transfer the skills into everyday life.
The curriculum is built around six core skills: Name It, Breathe It, Think It, Challenge It, Connect It and Distract It. Each lesson includes clear outcomes, discussion, reflection, and age-appropriate activities to help pupils turn adventure into lasting learning.
Access to Bounce Beyond is granted through PGL Beyond.
Lessons
6 lessons in this module.
Bounce Beyond: Life is a journey
Pupils are introduced to Bounce Beyond and begin preparing for the emotional experience of the residential. The lesson helps pupils understand that change, challenge and new experiences can bring mixed emotions. Pupils explore emotions as signals, notice where feelings show up in the body, and practise calming strategies such as body breathing. The lesson also establishes a safe and supportive classroom space for reflection and discussion.
Bounce Beyond: Connecting the brain, emotions and thoughts
Pupils learn how thoughts, feelings and behaviours are connected through the ABC model. Using safe third-person examples, they explore how different people can think differently about the same event and therefore feel and behave differently. Pupils are introduced to Gremlin Beliefs — Me, Them and Always — and begin to recognise when thoughts may be unhelpful, fixed or one-sided.
Bounce Beyond: WoBbLe and Ready to Bounce
Pupils build on the ABC model by learning how worry can snowball into catastrophising. They practise the WoBbLe skill — worst case, best case and most likely case — to help make worries more balanced and realistic. Pupils also explore gratitude as a way to strengthen connection and create a Ready to Bounce plan to help them approach the residential with confidence, support and practical tools.
Bounce Beyond: Looking Back, Owning Growth
After the residential, pupils reflect on their experience and turn it into evidence of growth. They revisit key moments from PGL, including times they felt nervous, kept going, helped others or were helped themselves. Pupils use evidence from the residential to reframe old Gremlin Beliefs and recognise effort, courage, connection and progress as individuals and as a group.
Bounce Beyond: Optimism and Evidence
Pupils learn that optimistic thinking is not pretending everything is easy, but thinking realistically, using evidence and focusing on what can be done next. They practise using evidence questions to challenge pessimistic or unhelpful Gremlin Beliefs. The lesson helps pupils apply the Bounce Beyond skills beyond the residential, including in school, home, friendships, clubs and everyday challenges.
Bounce Beyond: Moving Forward
The final lesson helps pupils consolidate what they have learned and create a plan for using the skills in the future. Pupils review the resilience skills developed across Bounce Beyond, identify strengths they showed during the residential, and create a personal mental resilience and belonging plan. They finish by writing a letter to their future self, helping them carry the learning forward beyond the programme.