Skip to content ↓

Year 10s participate in The Duke of Edinburgh Expedition!

Last weekend a group of brave Year 10s made their way to Downe to tackle the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. The weekend proved to be more challenging than many of us expected, but all in all it was a very rewarding experience.

After an early start on Saturday morning we headed off into the woods, weighed down by our enormous backpacks, whilst consulting our rather inaccurately drawn OS maps! The aim was to walk 13km each day in small teams, carrying all of our own equipment and making our own food along the way (although I suspect my group walked more like 16, and others walked 22!).

Having spent the last six months taking part in physical and volunteering activities, working towards our Bronze Award, the last thing anyone wanted was to fail our expedition. So on we trudged checking in with our teachers at regular checkpoints as we went.

When we at last reached our campsite in the evening after a gruelling day, the last thing anyone wanted to do was to put up our tents and cook dinner. However, an hour or so later, tents up and stomachs full, we could finally relax around the campfire with some games and some (questionable) singing (from Mr Brook).

The next day we embarked on another walk which, with morale at an all-time low, was significantly harder than that of the previous day. When we eventually reached the final checkpoint to meet our assessor, Jean, she announced that we had passed! Both the feelings of relief and achievement were immense for everyone.

A big thank you from all of us to Miss Muirhead for organising D of E this year and also to Miss Bellingham and Mr Brook for putting up with a group of exhausted, sweaty teenagers for the weekend!

I imagine that in hindsight we’ll all be able to look back on this experience as a positive one, but some of us may need a little more recovery time…

Isabel Hosier, Year 10