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DofE Expedition
A challenging final Expedition for our Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award participants.
Saturday 22 September 2018 dawned grey, and within an hour of setting out for the Forest of Dean, the rain was falling steadily; rain which only became heavier and more incessant as the day wore on. Our ten DofE Bronze Award teams gathered promptly at the two rendezvous points and were underway by lunchtime. Whilst a couple of teams struggled with navigation, all showed great resourcefulness, and were ensconced in camp, albeit wet and cold, by 7pm on Saturday evening.
If the rain was constant on Saturday then it was positively driving on Sunday morning, and being at the bottom of the Wye Valley meant that temperatures were tangibly colder than in Cirencester. Having learnt the navigational lessons from Saturday, the groups showed commendable reciprocity and successfully completed their second day’s walking as the sun began to shine brightly! All groups were in and debriefed by 5pm, before being whisked away for hot food, relaxing baths and comfortable beds by proud parents!
Given that the No Limits instructors stated that the conditions were amongst the worst they had ever experienced on a Bronze Expedition, our participants should be commended for the resilience and stoicism they showed!
A huge thank you to Mr Reed, Mr Green, Mrs Ellison, Mr Carmichael and Mr Morgan for giving up their weekend to support the pupils, particularly in such difficult conditions!
Evie commented “I felt really proud at the end, and a real sense of having accomplished something… despite feeling like a turtle for two days!”
Oscar said “It was truly character-building and I feel very proud to have successfully completed the expedition.”
I am extremely grateful to the staff team who gave up their weekends to support our pupils’ endeavours in particularly inclement weather! I commend the pupils on their team work and resilience and I look forward to learning that they have equally persevered in the other elements of the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award, including volunteering and developing new or existing skills, in the Spring.
Chiquita Henson, Headteacher
Our DofE pupils now need to ensure that they upload all outstanding evidence to their eDofE account. We look forward to sharing their success at their presentation evening in March 2019.
We will be launching the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award to our Year 9 pupils before half term, so interested parties should keep an eye out for more details. Please note that their practice expedition will take place during Enrichment Week 2019.