Silver DofE Expedition - Friday 28th April - Sunday 30th April

Following a very successful weekend, I want to give you an update about the practice Silver DofE expedition that was completed. I also want to publicly thank Alex Sperling, Simon Potter and Conrad Stevens for their time and energy, they really went above and beyond and I really cannot express how awesome they are. 

23 students across year 10 and 11 took part in 3 days and 2 nights of camping and hiking in the Wadhurst area. In total they walked approximately 40-50k in distance over the area of Wadhurst on the border   between Kent and East   Sussex. Students   explored well known points of   interest such as Bedgebury Pinetum and Bewl Water. 

 On the Friday and Saturday students completed 7 hours of   walking/exploring, followed by campcraft (putting up tents and   cooking dinner). Groups met challenges along the way, including   map reading errors, muddy conditions and overpacked rucksacks,   but all groups completed their days and were proud of their   achievements. The practice allows them to make mistakes now to prepare for their assessed weekend with hopefully fewer errors. 

Sunday was a little different with the groups all being challenged with a game of "Capture the Flag". Students were dropped off at the 6 mile marker (Bewl Water is 12.4 miles in total). At each mile marker, students were given a group challenge that they needed to complete, points were then generated from the speed of getting to the markers, but also creativity with the challenges. This was a huge success and ended the 3 days on a high. 

Overall, the students were a huge credit to the school and themselves. They were responsible and polite and respected the campsite and its facilities. 

There was a really lovely moment when the staff were sat down for dinner, all of the students were in their tents and a chorus of voices asking who was going to be doing the Gold award suddenly surrounded us. There was a resounding yes! These students hadn’t completed the practice yet, let alone the qualifying weekend and were already talking about completing the most challenging award. 

Students spirits were high all the way home at the end of what was a very tiring 3 days. We had lots of singing for the entirety of the journey, entering the school grounds singing “Sweet Caroline” with the windows down. In a way, we didn’t want it to end! Bring on the Qualifier in June!