On two consecutive weekends this month, Wilson’s has played host to instructors from our DofE Activity Provider. With 96 Silver Year 11 and 36 Gold Year 12 participants, and 135 Year 10 Bronze participants, Wilson’s has a very large cohort of pupils preparing for expeditions this year. Three pupils give their perspective on the preparations:
On 21-22 January, 135 Year 10 pupils gathered in the McAlister Room for our first experience of Bronze DofE training, preparing ourselves for the practice expedition in April and the qualifying expedition later in the year. Throughout the weekend, experienced mountaineers led us through a range of topics; the leader of our group was planning his own expedition to Mt. Everest! This is all aimed at readying every individual to be a "cog in the clockwork" and to encourage the symbiosis of the team so that everyone can develop their orienteering and survival skills.
We started the weekend with the most vital part: planning our route. With detailed criteria, instructions, and a pen to hand, we huddled around an ordnance survey map and planned out how we would use footpaths to navigate toward the campsite. Whilst long and arduous, by the end of the first day we had a route for both days of the expedition in April. On Sunday, with most unfavourable weather, we journeyed outside to learn how to use a portable gas stove and how to put up a tent.
The weekend as a whole was delightful and many useful skills were acquired!
By Ethan, Year 10
Going into the first day of our Silver DofE training, I thought that we did not have very much to learn and that I could spend much of the time relaxing with my friends – how wrong I was! For starters, there was just so much to recap from Bronze – much of which we had forgotten. On the first day, our instructor Tony reminded us how to set a map using a compass and calculate grid references. After dusting away the cobwebs, we sat down for the gruelling task of completing our route cards. I almost forgot how tiring this was – yet vitally important to help stay safe when going on the expedition.
On the second day, we recapped how to pack our rucksacks, ensuring that we only had the essential items in them, with the heavier items at the bottom and the lighter/emergency items at the top. Finally, we reminded ourselves how to set up a tent and pack it away neatly and efficiently.
Overall, we learnt a lot from this training weekend and are ready for the expedition – especially considering that the expedition is two nights rather than one night as we had on Bronze – and I would like to thank Mr Elwood for organising the training weekend!
By Vivek, Year 11
Although some of our friends had clearly been intimidated by the prospective challenges of Gold DofE, 36 of us are showing the strength and resilience to proceed!
At the start of our training weekend, we were robustly acclimatised to the Gold mindset by engaging in a session of route planning. Any thoughts of a “Silver” or “Bronze” route were banished harshly, condemned to oblivion with a cloth and spirit - eradicating the old route markers and facing up to those horrid monstrosities that doth unfix our hair: Mountains. That’s what Gold candidates face. That’s where our route markers need to be and where we will serve our expedition.
Having marked 60km of routes on two maps and successfully filled out route cards, we sat down to listen to an informative talk about our backpacks and which essentials we would need for four days. Over the course of the weekend, we learnt about the health and safety requirements of our expedition. Every degree of burn and two broken bones were seen that day during our first aid training. Yet we all left as changed and improved people, with a new perspective on life and with a single aim: to complete our Gold expedition!
By Muizz, Year 12
