The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in LGS got under way for the year in early September 2022 with a number of after school training sessions for the Year 11 Silver Award Group. These were followed by their first expedition from Friday 16 September to Saturday 17 September, in the local area, camping at the Waterfall Caves campsite. This expedition was a steep learning curve for the group as some had never camped before and most had never hiked carrying a packed rucksack. Despite their lack of experience the group performed admirably and were able to look forward with confidence to their Silver Practice Expedition in April.
The Gold Practice Expedition took place from Thursday 20 October to Saturday 22 October. This years Gold Group included Year 13 and Year 14 students as a result of disruptions to the DofE programme in recent years due to COVID 19. Although the Year 14 participants had a little experience from Silver training when they were in Year 11, for the Year 13 participants this was their first expedition. After a gentle start on the Thursday the group completed two tough 20km days on the Friday and Saturday, starting at the Roe Park Hotel and finishing at Downhill beach.
On Thursday 20 April the Silver Practice Expedition got under way in the Antrim Hills in glorious sunshine. The pupils were dropped off at Bryvore Bridge and made their way around Trostan to their campsite at Agan Bridge. During the first day and night the group took a little time to remember the lessons learnt in September, but by the end of the expedition all participants had improved their walking, navigational and camp craft skills dramatically and staff were confident that they were now ready for Silver Assessment. Year 13 Gold participants joined this expedition on the Friday evening to gain a little more confidence and experience before their Gold Assessment. The expedition ended at Glenariff Forest Park Visitor Centre on the Saturday afternoon, where an exhausted group took the opportunity to make the most of what the cafe had to offer before they were picked up by bus.
With some Year 11 pupils taking part in the Middle School French Exchange the Silver Assessment had to take place in two different time windows. The first groups completed theirs in the local area from Sunday 18 to Tuesday 20 June. Throughout this expedition the weather forecast suggested electrical storms, however, these didn’t really materialise until after all groups had finished. Although the participants didn’t have to contend with lightning, they did have to fight against very humid conditions and the resulting insects, and of course the small matter of walking 50km carrying packed rucksacks over rough mountainous terrain! Despite the tough conditions all participants had a great experience and completed the expedition in exemplary fashion.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award year in school will come to a conclusion during the week beginning Monday 26 June when the remaining Silver participants will complete their Silver assessments, and 20 Gold participants will take part in the Gold Assessment – covering 80km over four days/three nights in the Mournes.
