Du ke of E dinburgh’ s awards
Silver Award Gold Award
The Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award assessed expedition this year
took place in the White Peak area of the Peak District. Participants
overcame particularly challenging conditions, facing temperatures
approaching 30 degrees while carrying all their equipment on hilly
routes exceeding 20km. The determination of the students was
hugely impressive and groups demonstrated outstanding teamwork
to ensure all members were looked after throughout the three-day
expedition. It has been another fantastic year for Gold DofE with 60 Lower
Sixth students working towards their award and 56 successfully
completing their expeditions to date.
Accommodation for all was in tents following a brief stay in the
beautiful Hartington Hall YHA where groups conducted their
administration prior to launching their expeditions. A bright and
cheery outlook emanated from all the groups, who learned many
skills including navigation, campcraft, teamwork and perseverance.
This will undoubtedly assist them in working towards the Gold
Award and, of course, in later life.
Qualifying Hiking Expedition
in Snowdonia
Following an excellent practice expedition in the Brecon Beacons
that challenged their navigation, kit, campcraft and team resolve,
the ten participants were more than ready for Snowdonia. For the
first time this year, one of our groups comprised three Sevenoaks
students and three students from Knole Academy, which proved to
be an excellent partnership.
Simon Mavroleon
Lightning storms on the first couple of nights were pretty dramatic
but for most of the 70km hike there were favourable conditions in
the Welsh mountains and both groups managed to enjoy excellent
views from the top of Cadair Idris at 893m on day three. Of
particular note was the perseverance of the direct entrants going
straight to Gold who learned incredibly quickly.
Qualifying Paddling Expedition
on the River Severn
Eighteen participants qualified on the River Severn. Currents were
strong this year so there was plenty of technical difficulty for
participants to contend with. Two of the girls capsized but recovered
well, using skills learnt in training drills. For most of the 110km
travelled the teams had nice weather, and both groups ended up
passing with flying colours.
Qualifying Paddling Expedition
on the River Drava in Croatia
The other 32 paddlers joined me in Croatia, tackling the mighty
Drava that weaves back and forth along the Hungarian border. After
warming up in a canal duct alongside a huge reservoir, students
had to navigate through a paddling slalom training course before
entering the main river channel. From then on it was a wonderful
few days of remote wilderness, beautiful sunshine and gorgeous wild
campsites that students were able to pick themselves, often ending
up on little river islands and demonstrating complete self-sufficiency.
Following the huge snowmelt of late spring the river was running
particularly high and fast so the distances were increased, in the end
leading to students covering somewhere in the region of 165km.
The highlight was seeing how teams responded when two members
were slowed by illness. They lashed canoes together, pulled
other boats, created double paddles for increased efficiency and
sang songs to maintain morale. This was a truly great display of
companionship, determination and teamwork which embodies
exactly what DofE is all about.
Simon Hall
“
The really hard part of the expedition in Croatia came on
the third and fourth days when our route was extended
by over 50km. On the third day (my birthday!) we canoed 60km.
The route itself wasn’t a problem as group morale was high.
However we encountered a bit of trouble looking for a campsite
that evening, as we had to continue canoeing much longer than
intended. The river was at a much higher level than usual so
many beaches that we might have camped upon were flooded.
Overall, although the expedition was tough, I found it extremely
rewarding and the surroundings peaceful.
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Marisa Murdin, Lower Sixth
TRIPS AND ACTIVITIES
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2017-2018
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