North York Moors Expedition

Posting by Grigor Wallace, Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator

As well as being a teacher in the Sports department at College, I also co-ordinate the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award, which a number of students take advantage of.

Duke of Edinburgh is a great thing to do; it gets you out into some of the most beautiful parts of the country, challenges you physically and it’s a great thing to put down on university and job applications.

We recently undertook a couple of trips to help get the students prepared for their assessed expedition in September. First we went to the Peak District, in early April, where the students hiked and stay in a youth hostel in Edale. More recently, we did a full practice expedition, this time to the North York Moors.

A group of 18 students took advantage of beautiful weather conditions near Whitby, as they hiked and camped at farmsteads, only having limited access to minimal conveniences.

The students spent four days navigating in open and wild country. They devised the routes as groups and put into practice the work learnt in the classroom on planning, food choice, cooking, rucksack packing, appropriate pacing, as well as the all important teamwork required for expeditions of this type. Staff monitored the groups throughout.

It gave them a good grounding ahead of September’s assessed expedition to the Cheviot Hills. In addition to the technical requirements, they also had to deal with the physical discomforts that go with such strenuous hikes, including tired muscles and blistered feet.

This expedition was great practice for the students. It gave them all experience on what to expect when they are assessed later in the year. They now know the additional preparations they need to make prior to the more physically demanding final trip.

Thanks go to the volunteer staff: Dave Lewis, Gail Williams, Louis Hume and Suzanne Madeley. Their help was invaluable and without it trips of this kind would not be possible.

More photos are available to view on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/solihullsixthform.