Last weekend, 41 students from Year 12 travelled to Snowdonia to complete practice expeditions for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award.
Setting out on Thursday afternoon and returning on Sunday evening, seven groups of between five and seven students hiked across Snowdonia National Park, following routes they had planned and implementing training they had undergone. Staying in campsites each night, students were responsible for their own food, equipment, navigation, and organisation.
On the second day, each group hiked to the summit of Snowdon, the highest mountain in England and Wales. The hikes finished at the School’s bunkhouse, Cerrig Pryfaid, after three challenging days.
Despite the miserable weather conditions braved on Sunday, all groups finished in one piece and in reasonably high in spirits! Year 12 pupils commented: “It was great to see the view from Snowdon summit, and felt like a real accomplishment to reach the top” and “‘be bothered’ was a great motto to keep me going!”
Mr Will Blackshaw, Director of Outdoor Education, said: “It was great to be back out doing expeditions as normal again, after a long couple of years; this was the first time we’ve been in Snowdonia since Easter 2019! The pupils all coped really well with the expedition, although they definitely found the step up to Gold level challenging (in a good way!). All learnt a lot they will be able to put into practice in their qualifying expedition in the Lake District in July.”
