DofE Silver Qualification Expedition

Over the beginning of the Easter break, the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award Qualifying Expedition went ahead, where the students, over the 3 days, hiked over 50km of the Cotswolds. Now being assessed Ayah, Diona, Hajar, Gabi, Tyler, Raynaldo, Joao, Morgan, Jenos and Mariam rose to the hardest challenge they have ever undertaken. Over the course of the 3 days they pursued through every type of weather imaginable. The first day being the absolute worst, where the rain was so heavy they had to put bin bags over their socks to keep their feet dry! The Duke of Edinburgh Silver expedition is never easy, but this first day was the toughest challenge I have seen for a long time. Ms Beard, Mr Hastings and new recruit Martin Hampshire were all so impressed by their resilience, determination and attitude in the face of adversity.

How did these fantastic students overcome the cold and rain?

Teamwork, morale building and dedication; the likes of which I have never seen before. They made up songs to sing, picked each other up off the cold, wet ground and shared a joke or two around the campfire.

How did the assessment go?

The teams were so accomplished at their map reading skills that I could nearly countdown to when I would be able to see them coming across the ridge of a hill or appear out of the forest. They honed their cooking skills to provide each other with nutritional meals even in the harsh weather. Everything was as close to perfect as I could have expected.

What’s up next for these intrepid explorers?

They have performed so well that I am taking them on a rewards trip to hike the Seven Sisters in the South Downs and then… ONWARDS TO GOLD!

Mr Skinner