Adventurous activities are established as an integral aspect of The National Curriculum for 5-16-year-olds. Securing a place in the curriculum provides adventurous activities with an unparalleled opportunity to reach more pupils than any other form of delivery during these formative years. However, little consideration has been given to adventurous activities as curriculum pedagogy in recent years. This paper refers to an alternative "models-based" approach to teaching and learning that presents adventurous activities with the best opportunity to fully realise the specific contribution it makes to young people's physical education learning. Secondly, it considers key challenges a "models-based" approach to adventurous activities might present for schools and teachers and suggests ways to build a rigorous evidence base to underpin its continued inclusion as an essential component of physical education.