Duke Of Edinburgh

Expedition food – correct use of a Trangia for cooking, cleaning up afterwards, dietary requirements for a successful expedition and sample meal plans.

First aid – discussing what to do in an emergency, how to avoid injury by wearing the correct footwear and how best to treating simple injuries.

These topics were backed up with the online training modules which have been created for DofE at St Olave’s.

On day two the teams were out walking a predetermined route with staff who shadowed them, correcting each group if necessary and offering tips on map reading, pace setting and rest breaks. Once at camp, tents were pitched and the Trangias put to good use. Students returned home for the evening (still no overnight camping possible) and then returned bright and early for day three where they were left to do the whole day on their own with the DofE staff meeting them at checkpoints and monitoring them covertly from a distance. We ended the day with a Q&A session to test their knowledge and a debrief regarding each group’s performance across the weekend.

The summer term is always a busy one for the DofE Department and next up were the Year 11s, who had patiently waited to complete their Covid-delayed Bronze assessed expedition from the previous year. By way of refresher, we started by working on camp craft, route planning, Trangia training and tents. Day two had the teams out in the wilds walking either the ‘blue’ or ‘red’ 18km routes. These were both circular with multiple check points to pass through. It was a long day at the office with teams on the move from 08:30, with the last team reaching their destination at 16:25.

Finally, it was the turn of the Year 13s and during the last full week of term we packed our bags and headed off to Wales, finally getting the opportunity to camp overnight. The Gold practice expedition means a five day adventure in the Black Mountains of South Wales, spending much of each day either going up or coming down a mountain, whilst carrying a full rucksack and coping with the varying degrees of Welsh weather. On this occasion we had torrential rain on day one whilst setting up camp but for the remainder of the week we basked in wall-to-wall sunshine; whilst this sounds delightful, it brings its own issues of staying hydrated, avoiding sun-related problems such as heat stroke and biting insects.

Our Gold teams were managed by the mountain leaders of Wild Country Consultants (WCC) who began day one of the expedition by getting to know each student in their assigned team, carrying out a full check of clothing, kit, food supplies and helping the students to prepare mentally for challenges that lay ahead. They revisited topics covered from previous awards such as navigation and camp craft in order to reinforce the skills needed, before taking the teams out for a short day on the hills. In the evening, the teams carried out their route planning ready for an early start the next day.

From day two onwards, the WCC assessors gradually reduced their contact with the teams, allowing them to make their own decisions, mistakes and corrections. By day 5, they were only met at check points at specified times. Each day ended with a debrief and WCC also kept a keen eye on group morale and well-being. The St Olave’s staff team roamed the mountains during the day, watching teams from afar, and caught up with teams in the evening to ensure all was well. The Gold expedition is all about teamwork and self-reliance. A weary but happy bunch of students finished the week with a team debrief and a long, smelly trip home on the coach, but with a lot more comfort than they had had all week!

Normally the DofE season finishes there, but with Gold practice expedition deferred from Easter to July, staff generously gave up five days of their Summer break to enable Year 13 to wrap up the expedition section of their Award before they left St Olave’s for pastures new. This time we headed to North Wales and the glorious scenery of Snowdonia. The students spent the next five days walking routes across the Snowdon range in their teams, again with a WCC assessor assigned to each group. Because of the time of year, Snowdonia was busy so the teams either wild camped or used not so wellknown campsites. This was also the reason why on the last day the whole group walked together up to the top of Snowdon and down the other side, something we only do in teams as a rule. The weather proved to be glorious until we reached 100m from the top, where there was cloud cover obstructing our view from the top – typical Wales! Once down, the teams could collapse on the coach for the long trip home.

The DofE Team has worked hard throughout the year on trying to keep the programme going. Without doubt the DofE Award at St Olave’s would not be nearly as strong without my hard working colleagues who give up their time without hesitation. A big thank you to Mrs Andrews, Mrs Attwood, Dr Carpenter, Mr Carroll, Miss Difford, Mr Haines, Mr Jewson, Mr Masters, Mrs Probodziak, Mr Thomas and Mrs Wiltshire.

Paul Holland DofE Co-ordinator