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'Mary Ward' shoes journey to the Peak District on Duke of Edinburgh expeditions

'Mary Ward' shoes journey to the Peak District on Duke of Edinburgh expeditions

This was a bumper expedition with Year 11 doing Silver Assessed expedition (as they did their Bronze Award last year in Year 10) and Year 10 doing Direct Silver training expeditions (as the new lower age of entry to the Award means Year 9 are doing Bronze). With lots of teams out we had lots of staff too.

The expedition started from Edale where Year 11 met their assessors and went through a kit check after a hearty supper. Year 10 checked through their routes and weighed rucksacks to get them down to 11-12 kg.

The first days walking was a breeze for Year 11 and they arrived at North Lees campsite in fine form in spite of the cold wet weather. They cooked and settled into their tents without fuss. Year 10 found the weather very upsetting and struggled to deal with the cold and wet, some opting for a one course meal rather than spend more time cooking in the rain! In spite of their misgivings about their tents they stood up to the wild weather very well and groups left the site early in the morning and walked fast to keep warm. The day brightened and Stocking Farm was bathed in sunshine when teams arrived. This time the difference between Year 11 and Year 10 was less obvious and all cooked and ate well. The last day dawned bright and clear so teams set off for Bakewell at a brisk pace. Year 11 passed with flying colours getting a debrief from their assessors which praised their campcraft, navigation, cooking and team work. Year 10 also arrived in good time to get the coach home - and were in good spirits having bonded well in their teams.

The owner of Stocking Farm send school a very complimentary letter praising the behaviour and politeness of the girls and how well supervised they had been by staff. A big thank you to all the satf who cheerfully gave up part of their Easter Holiday to make this possible. Huge thanks must go to Mrs Norman for organising this bumper D of E expedition and for giving Year 10 this opportunity to do Silver D of E. They now prepare for assessment in June (22-25) with a trip to the Yorkshire Dales.