DofE Gold: Springtime in Snowdonia

Our intrepid Sixth Form DofE groups set out on Friday 23^rd May to spend the bank holiday weekend trekking their way across wild country in Snowdonia National Park from the Dolgam campsite in Capel Curig.

With robust training provided by Isaac Walker, our Outdoor Education Manager,  the teams were prepared to manage themselves through a mixture of ‘on’ and ‘off’ grid reflecting the camping experience required at Gold level, with very minimal facilities. Students planned and purchased their own food for the expedition, plotted their routes and packed their own rucksacks with essential kit to survive for four days.

Duncan Laurie-Pile, Maths teacher and a crucial member of the DofE team commented, “It really stretches people’s awareness of what they’re capable of and gives them confidence too. For Gold, going on a four-day expedition into wild country, where you’re completely self-sufficient, instils real confidence, and there’s a lot of teamwork involved in getting through some difficult weather conditions. It also, I think, opens young people’s minds to the beauty of the country that we live in, and hopefully inspires them to go and seek out other amazing places, and gives them the confidence to go there. Because for me, when I did it many years ago, it gave me the confidence to go and climb volcanoes in Indonesia, for instance. I definitely wouldn’t have done that if I’d not done Gold DofE.”