Having spent his entire secondary school career at International School Aberdeen (ISA) since Grade 7 (S1), Daniel has built a strong academic record alongside a deep passion for outdoor leadership and teamwork. Driven by his experiences through the the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) and the International Baccalaureate Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) programme, Daniel is heading to Norway for a Gap Year at Torshus Folkehøgskule – a traditional Scandinavian folk high school focused on personal growth, practical learning, and community living.
Daniel shares about his experiences here:
“Arriving at ISA in Grade 7 in the middle of COVID was tough, but I settled in quickly and felt part of the grade right away. Once restrictions were lifted, I was really glad that ISA encouraged us to dive into extra-curricular activities.
Since I had done some climbing in primary school, DofE (and later CAS) gave me the perfect reason to get back into it. This ultimately led to my Gold DofE residential being an advanced climbing week in the Peak District, which I loved. My ISA Climbing Club instructor then encouraged me to gain my Climbing Wall Instructor qualification, which also led to me completing an outdoor first aid course. To pass my instructor assessment, I had to plan a lesson for an elementary student’s first climb, and I felt really confident because I already had experience supporting young climbers while volunteering at ISA climbing clubs & Summer Camp. This summer I have been coaching children at summer camp, and found it incredibly rewarding to see their persistence pay off when they finally complete a hard climb.
My passion for the outdoors and the local community extended into long-term service as well. I volunteered for around four years with local charity Compass, where I learned so much about sustainable produce and gardening, building a great working relationship with them. Connecting these experiences with outdoor school trips – like hiking and canoeing across Scotland in Grade 11 and our Grade 9 trip to Northumberland – really highlighted just how much I love being outdoors, and I hope my future lifestyle continues to reflect that.
Alongside these activities, my academic work at ISA showed me how much I thrive in collaborative environments. Working on a Gold CREST project with a small team to build an evolution simulation (which was successfully showcased in the Raspberry Pi Coolest Projects competition) and completing the IB Diploma made it clear that I much prefer working as part of a team rather than on my own.
That made Torshus Folkehøgskule in Norway the natural choice for a Gap Year. Folk high schools in Scandinavia are unique because they focus entirely on hands-on, collaborative learning and personal development without the pressure of formal exams. I will be studying Game Development as my main course with climbing as my elective, allowing me to combine two things I love: coding and climbing. While I do this I will be immersed in Norwegian friluftsliv, their cultural philosophy of living connected to the outdoors. I am a bit nervous about sharing a room for the first time, but I am really looking forward to working on team projects and living closer to nature.
If I had to describe my time at ISA in three words, they would be: caring, challenging, supportive.”
