Two King's teams complete gruelling Ten Tors in record time

This year’s Ten Tors event has been the best in recent memory as King’s Bruton CCF’S two 35 mile teams completed the challenge in record time and with a great sense of achievement. Initially 44 members of the Fourth Form signed up for the challenge and throughout the course of the training it became clear that the twelve selected were the best cadets most likely to complete the challenge as a whole team.

One team was predominantly girls and the other all boys. The training consisted of walking on the Quantocks, up to Alfred’s Tower and of course weekends away on the unforgiving Dartmoor. There are many facets that make up the training and team work is one of the essential ones. The challenge is gruelling and if the weather closes in then it tests even the fittest and mentally strongest. In order to complete the challenge and get a certificate then all six members of the team must finish before the cut off time of 5pm on the Sunday evening.

On Friday the two teams headed up to Okehampton Camp in readiness for their kit to be checked and to attend the briefing. On Saturday morning they were awoken to the sounds of Chariots of Fire at 5am and then they made their way to the start line alongside two and a half thousand other pupils; the atmosphere was one of nervous anticipation. Both of our teams were given separate 35 Mile routes which meant they navigated across the North Moor; they both did remarkably well on the first day and made it to the Tor Seven where they camped for the night.  In the morning they only had about 4-5 hours of walking and in fact at one point just missed each other by ten minutes at Watern Tor, Tor Nine.At 10.30am the girls’ team came in to the delights of all the staff and parents that came to support; the finish line is an emotional place and the pupils strode in with their King's School, Bruton flag and heads held high - it was a very proud moment for the pupils, parents and all the staff involved. Not long afterwards, the boys’ team came marching in from a different direction about twenty minutes behind the girls to the delight of all concerned.

 The Ten Tors Challenge is an incredible event for youngsters: it instils great confidence and pride in them allowing them to see that seemingly very difficult challenges can be overcome. All our pupils did remarkably well and now know that they have faced adversity and overcome it. Well done to each and every one of them.

Seamus Harkness, I/C Ten Tors