Brooke Weston Academy students, who have enroled on the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Bronze Award Scheme, took part in a practice expedition in preparation for their qualifying assessment expedition later this term.

As part of the DofE Bronze programme students must plan, train for and complete a two-day, one-night expedition. The practice expedition covers the practical elements of map reading, route planning, cooking, first-aid and camping but also teaches students about time management, the countryside code and the physical demands of carrying a full rucksack while walking for several hours on successive days.

The supervised practice expedition began at Weekley Hall Woods near Kettering with students following an 8.5km route on foot through woods and fields back to BWA via Newton and Great Oakley - meeting some friendly alpacas along the way! All students took a turn at leading and navigating the group of 13 students during the expedition.

On their return students set up an overnight camp on the grounds of Brooke Weston Academy where they spent a restless night kept awake by the sound of foxes barking. On day two, after cooking breakfast and packing the camp away, they navigated themselves around a 9km circular route whilst being remotely supervised. All students completed the expedition under very difficult conditions due to the hot and sunny weather and having to carry heavy rucksacks.

Science teacher Josh Pape, who helped supervise the expedition said, ‘Overall the students did amazingly. Their map reading skills certainly improved over the two days. Their intuition whilst out on the trail also improved, paying close attention to footpath markers, map symbols and reading the land ahead of them to gain a deeper understanding of their location and how to manage the rest of their journey. The assessment expedition will be in Rutland where the terrain will be unfamiliar and slightly hillier than they were used to on the practice!’