Three teams of students headed out on their Silver DofE qualifying expeditions on the evening of 5 July. They had a ‘chilled’ evening, checking kit, cooking a meal and putting their campcraft skills into effect. As they had not yet started their expeditions at that point, they were able to enjoy a game of ‘bat and ball’ with equipment loaned by a friendly camping neighbour. They had a thoroughly good evening just being ‘kids’ (as per one of the students himself) without access to technology or social media.

Over the course of 3 days and 2 nights, the teams put their navigation and teamwork skills through their paces as they explored unfamiliar territory, often over and within uneven terrain, including forest, heathland and coast.

One of the teams, the Dynamic Ducks, were presented with small, very squeaky, rubber ducks by their Team Supervisor, to accompany them on their expeditions and supervisors and assessors were greeted with a chorus of ‘quacking’ every time the team was encountered.

All 3 teams successfully navigated their routes and completed their expeditions without incident. They should be extremely proud of themselves, especially in the rather warm conditions, for completing their expeditions.

When the expeditions had been completed and the teams debriefed by their Assessor, they were treated to a well-deserved ice-cream! The many months of training and practising certainly paid off.