GoldBy Simon West
This year's Bronze Duke of Edinburgh
expedition took place in Exmoor
National Park. Each student
had to undertake a challenging two-day
walk, while demonstrating their ability
to navigate and camp independently. To
successfully complete the expedition each
group had to work as an effective team.
From the outset all the pupils showed
great enthusiasm, quickly taking to
camping, which was a new experience
for some of them. Over the two days, and
despite the hard walking, each group was
always in high spirits. They demonstrated
excellent navigation skills and ensured
that morale was always high. They chose
some interesting meals for their walk,
with chicken fajitas making an interesting
debut this year.
On the second day, while the groups were
nearing the end of the walk and taking
in the views from Dunkery beacon, they
encountered heavy rain, hail and an
intense lightning storm. It was impressive
to see their cool-headedness when
exposed to very challenging weather
conditions. I am proud to report that
every group completed the expedition.
This is a great achievement and each
student who took part in the expedition
can be pleased with their individual effort
and a great contribution to a successful
King's endeavour.
It is with great pride that I can report
that despite these horrendous conditions,
this is the first year that every student
successfully completed the challenge.
The assessors were very impressed with
In the last week of the summer holiday
24 6.2 students completed their
Duke of Edinburgh Gold expedition.
Four groups of students each completed
a gruelling four days of walking and
five days of wild camping around the
Dartmoor National Park. Each group
walked 80 kilometres and had to carry
enough food and equipment for all of their
needs throughout the entire expedition.
This year was particularly challenging.
Instead of enjoying balmy summer days,
the groups had to overcome relentless
heavy rain, low visibility, high rivers and
deep bogs. By the end of the expedition
everyone was sporting their very own
collection of blisters and sores: an
unfortunate inevitability, when using wet
gear day after day.
Duke of Edinburgh Awards
The Gold practice in the Lakes - Jamie Turvill, Beth
Horsham, George Pritchard, Tara Bell, George Retter
and Henry Dufosee
The Gold practice expedition - Josh Stickland,
Elena Close, Jennifer Stapleton, Zach Spiers and
Harvey Walsh
each group's high spirits, teamwork and
the determination to succeed. They
demonstrated a high degree of navigational
skills and campcraft, and each student can
be proud of their achievement.
BronzeBy Julia Griiths
The Bronze group sets of boldly from East
Quantoxhead
Mr Mason demonstrates campcraft to the Bronze
expedition
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