4 March 2024
Dr Jessica Dixon, DofE Manager
In February, each of our Duke of Edinburgh’s Award cohorts, bronze (Year 9), silver (Year 10), and gold (Lower Sixth), spent a Sunday at school completing their expedition training. Working together as a team for the first time, they learnt how to navigate and explore the countryside safely, set up camp and cook for themselves. The students really got stuck into each activity and anticipation is now building for their practice and qualifying expeditions in the summer term.
Freya S, Year 9
On Sunday 25 February, 61 Year 9s set out to prepare for our bronze DofE expedition, one of the many highlights of the whole Duke of Edinburgh’s Award experience. It was quite a cold morning, but we quickly found energy when we started learning how to put up tents. We have been put into groups for our expedition and it has been great to get know some people in my year group better.
I really enjoyed putting up the tents, which turned out to be easier than expected. Meal planning was fun too because we get to choose what we want to eat for two days. We had a first aid course, learning when we would need to alert an instructor for help. We also had a lesson in what to pack and how to read maps properly, which was a bit of a challenge. We had excellent instructors, and it was a brilliant day. Thank you to all involved in helping us prepare – I am very excited for the expedition!