On Monday 12th June, 53 of the LV started their Bronze DofE 'Assessed' expeditions with Wild Country Consultants supervising and assessing. The weather forecast was highly changeable, with hot weather and a chance of thunderstorms predicted. After a quick check of kit and a reminder of what to do in a thunderstorm in open countryside, the girls were taken by coach to the Sanctuary at the start of the Ridgeway.

Due to the weather forecast, the teams walked slightly shorter routes to get them all to the campsite before any of the predicted thunderstorms arrived. The afternoon and evening turned out to be dry and sunny, so the girls were able to enjoy rehydrating and relaxing on the campsite, as well as cooking their evening meals and demonstrating their campcraft skills to their assessors. 

The next morning, due to the hot weather forecast, staff decided to wake the girls at 6am to take advantage of the cooler temperatures earlier in the day. The teams did very well in the heat, and everyone made their way back to the coach and a well-deserved rest in the coach air conditioning. Thank you to Nige, Dawn, Jude and Darren who worked so hard keeping teams resupplied with water to prevent heat injury - and finding teams who walked in the wrong direction!

I'm very pleased to say that all 53 girls achieved their Bronze Expedition Award and each of them should be very proud of their award, especially the physical effort they made in very hot weather. 

The next DofE steps are progression to the Silver and/or Gold Award. The Silver Award expeditions are in UV with the 'Practice' expedition after GCSE exams finish in June. The Silver 'Assessed' expeditions are at the end of the summer holidays, just before LVI starts. If your daughter decides to progress straight to the Gold Award, then sections can start from her 16th birthday. If the Silver Award is not undertaken, then the Skill or Physical section at Gold is 18 months rather than 12 months long. In addition, some extra training for Gold Award expeditions will be required. This will involve two nights of camping and three days of walking in the Autumn Term of LVI with the Gold expeditions in the Spring and Summer Terms of LVI.

Finally, thank you to Mrs Harrison, Miss Halpin and Mr Mason for helping to supervise the girls overnight on the campsite and many thanks to Mrs Thorneloe who very kindly came out to escort the girls back to school on the coach.

Mrs Eloise MacLean
Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator