Duke of Edinburgh season

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Over two weeks at the end of January, Wilson’s was once again a hive of weekend activity.

This time, the hubbub was confined to the Lower School where all students who are embarking on Duke of Edinburgh expeditions this year were busy planning their routes and learning the skills they would need in order to succeed.

This year, we have 125 Year 10 students making up the 19 groups going on 2-day Bronze expeditions in the Surrey Hills, 95 Year 11 students in the 14 groups going on the 3-day Silver expeditions in the Ashdown Forest and the South Downs, and 35 students in the 6 groups going on the 4-day Gold expeditions to the Bannau Brycheniog (Brecon Beacons).

Over the course of the weekend, participants received training from our Approved Activity Provider instructors at PAU Expeditions. Over the course of 11 hours they learnt and brushed up on navigation theory, received first aid training, and discussed how to ensure that their rucksack is as lightweight and as comfortable as possible (the number of changes of clothes and amount of toiletries required was spoken about at length! The answers are “one or two” and “very little” respectively!).

Students were reminded how the tents worked and were taught how to care for them, and likewise with the stoves. This equipment is provided by the school so it is important that it is maintained properly.

Finally, the bulk of the weekend was taken up by the route planning – actually working out how far they needed to walk and documenting it all carefully.

We hope that the students are looking forward to venturing out of their comfort zones and into some of the most beautiful countryside in the UK.