Wild camping and adventure on the DofE Gold Qualifier to Dartmoor

From Sunday 13^th to Thursday 17^th June, twelve pupils from the Sixth Form undertook their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Qualifier Expedition on Dartmoor.

With the first night’s camp set up, the pupils were treated to a pizza feast to prepare them for the difficult challenge ahead. On the morning of the 14^th June, the expedition began - around 7-8 hours hiking each day alongside an expedition ‘aim’. One group had decided to monitor and collect the litter that they found on the moor, and assess its impact on the National Park. The other group decided to score their physical and mental wellbeing out of 10 at regular intervals throughout the expedition, to try to gauge the points at which they felt the most stress.

The pupils got off to a great start; with the weather in their favour they made great progress with heavy packs across some difficult terrain, including a lot of gorse and some very boggy ground! The weather stayed good throughout the expedition, allowing them to see some spectacular views and beautiful scenery that is often hiding behind clouds on Dartmoor. The pupils wild camped for all three nights of their expedition, and had to call upon their camp craft skills to make themselves comfortable for the night. This was the first time many of them had wild camped, and they all approached it with enthusiasm and a sense of adventure.

By the final day, the pupils had battled with bogs, ticks, midges, horses, rivers, steep inclines, blisters, and much more, but were still in good spirits as they approached the finish line. The sense of accomplishment was palpable as they reached, fittingly, the summit of King’s Tor; their final checkpoint of the week. In the debrief, our assessor, Tony, said that this was amongst the best groups of DofE Gold candidates he had ever seen, particularly with regards to their attitude in the face of difficulty. The pupils were also praised by the staff at the campsite on the first night, who commented on their politeness and courteousness.

I am exceptionally proud of all that Group 1 (Leo, Jamie, Ellie, Martha, Grace, and Anya), and Group 2 (Toby, Ben, Javdat, Max, Ollie, and Tom) have achieved, and their attitude throughout the whole week. The expedition, whilst often the most enjoyable part of the award, is often the biggest physical and mental hurdle that candidates faced, and I am thrilled to say that they all passed their expedition, allowing them to go on and complete the rest of their award.

My thanks go to Miss Brearley and Miss Miles for accompanying the expedition, as well as Steve (our Mountain Leader), and Tony (our DofE Assessor) for making the expedition a huge success.

Oliver Higgs - DofE Leader

Flickr album: DofE Gold Award Qualifier Expedition on Dartmoor - June 2021 | Height: auto | Theme: Default | Skin: Default Skin