SILVER
On 26 June , after a final check of my bag to see all my snacks were safe and secure , it was time for the culmination of my Silver Duke of Edinburgh ’ s Award : the assessed expedition . Throughout three days of walking my group had our ups and downs – quite a few ups and downs given we were hiking in the Peak District . Along the way we picked up lots of skills : dodging cows , spotting near-invisible stiles , and forcing down the chocolate porridge I had made for the group . Although a challenging few days , and a trying test of my motivational chat , our group crossed the finish line on the third day , exhausted after the 3am wake up . In fact , across the whole year group there was not a single person who chose to give up , and all groups finished in good time , ready for a sweet sleep on the coach ride back .
Overall , Silver DofE is well worth doing as it ’ s not often you get to push yourself so hard . In addition , it was really well organised by the staff ( a big thank you to them ). The first night was spent in a wonderful hostel , where everyone feasted on pizza , and teachers checked in with us regularly while we were out walking .
I hope to see lots of new Year 11s getting involved next year . My biggest top tip for them is to always pack one more pair of socks and get friendly with Ordnance Survey maps .
Sebastian Whittaker , Year 11
BRONZE
Bronze DofE was an experience I will never forget . I was nervous going into it , but quickly became immersed in the programme . I did Mandarin tutoring as my skill , swimming as my physical and teaching tennis to small children for my volunteering . I loved participating in these sections . For my skill and physical , I was already doing these as part of my normal timetable , but for volunteering , I had to find something that suited me . I love teaching the children , even though sometimes it is a little frustrating !
The expedition was certainly not what I had expected ; the heat was close to unbearable , but thanks to my friend ’ s portable fan , we managed . As the group leader , I will admit , we were lost many times , but with the help of the four other members , we managed to get back on track . The first day , we went speeding ahead , and eventually arrived at a junction , allegedly 5km further on , but in fact , it wasn ’ t a mile from where we had started . I enjoyed camping , sharing a tent with my friend , and despite making the terrible mistake of sleeping with our bags inside of our tent , we actually slept quite well . We managed the second day , and when we finished , the bus was right where we expected ; I cannot describe a better feeling !
DofE is an amazing programme , and I loved how I was able to explore a breadth of activities . I cannot wait to start Silver . I would recommend DofE to anyone who is looking to get more involved in extra-curricular activities and wants to spend time with their friends .
Maggie Hunter , Year 10
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2022-2023 109