It is fantastic to see girls going out on their Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions in recent weeks, in typical British summer weather: hot, cold, dry and pouring down all within 24 hours. Last weekend, thirty seven girls from Year 9 completed their Bronze expedition in the Peak District.
At Bronze level, students walk 12 miles over two days carrying all of their kit needed to camp overnight. This week-end, Year 10 girls are completing their Silver expedition in Snowdonia, walking for three days and camping for two nights.
The expeditions challenge young people in different ways. For some it is the physical challenge of walking for five to six hours carrying a heavy pack, for others it is more a mental challenge to cope with being away from home and having to rely on your map reading skills in order to make it to the campsite.
Putting up a tent in the pouring rain is another challenge to be overcome, before cooking on the Tranjia stove. But of course, this is the point. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is challenging and that is what makes it both rewarding and highly prized. Congratulations to all of our Bronze and Silver girls on finishing their expeditions and good luck in completing all of the other aspects in order to achieve your Awards. Good luck also to our LVI Gold students who will undertake their four day, three night expedition in the summer.
