DofE Bronze Tackle North Wessex Downs

Many of our Duke of Edinburgh Award participants have had to wait patiently throughout the pandemic for the expedition section of their Award. Those students who had completed all but the expedition received Certificates of Achievement in Final Collect last academic year in recognition of their commitment to the skills, service and physical elements of the award, but this weekend was finally their chance to put their expedition preparations into practice. Their aim was to complete six hours of purposeful planned activity each day, walking for two days and camping overnight in the North Wessex Downs. Working in teams of 4-6 students the groups walked independently during the day and gathered together in the evening at Oxenwood Outdoor Activity Centre near Marlborough, for a night under canvas.

Before starting the Bronze Award adventure, Max (Year 11) commented, “I am really excited about doing my DofE expedition because I think it will be a great opportunity to not only learn skills that I will need in future, but it will also give me a great opportunity to bond and have fun with some of the pupils in my year.”

Isaac Walker, DofE and Outdoor Education Manager, explains how valuable the Award is for students: “ The DofE is a great chance for students to broaden their horizons, discover new interests and talents, have fun with friends, develop essential skills for their future and achieve an internationally renowned Award.”

Having completed his expedition on Sunday, Max was tired but proud of his achievement, saying, “I very much enjoyed my DofE expedition, I really feel it has developed my map navigation skills and it was so nice to get out in the countryside with my friends for the weekend. We did get lost a few times but we always managed to work as a team to find our way back which was very good because it helped us become a stronger team.”

Willow (Year 11) added, “I really enjoyed my DofE and liked how it was a team exercise and the group really had to pull together to make sure that we achieved our goals”