On Saturday 6th February, students from Newstead Wood School participating in the bronze Duke of Edinburgh award were not allowed to sleep in late, they had to get up early and make their way to school (on a Saturday!) for their first DofE training day. Dressed in our blue DofE fleeces and walking boots, we were prepared to spend a day out walking and training, however, the day didn’t quite turn out as expected. Instead, we spent the morning learning about the risks and dangers that we could encounter on our expedition in June and the afternoon battling to put tents up in the uncooperative wind.
When on an expedition, you’ve always got to be ready to face the unexpected, from tripping over a tree root to being chased by a herd of cows in a field, we learnt about the many hazards and problems you could come across while on a two-day expedition in Tunbridge Wells. After having a lesson on what to do and what not to do on an expedition, we went outside to do some cooking on little portable Taiga stoves. It turned out to be quite eventful even though it was just boiling water, cooking pasta for 10 minutes and stirring in sauce; it required a team effort and everyone joined in. The best part was after you cooked the pasta, you got to eat it. I don’t know what it is about working hard together and cooking outside that always makes food taste so much better; because that was the best pasta I had eaten in a while!
When we had finished cooking and had washed up the pots for our stoves, we were allowed to eat lunch. There were mixed feelings and responses to the challenge of putting up the tents in the afternoon and the task clearly separated students into two groups. It divided the practical people and those with knowledge of camping from those who maybe weren’t as practical or those who were not bothered or too cold to want to join in. Putting up a tent can be quite difficult at the best of times, but putting up a tent in blustery winds is something else. Especially when you have five different people shouting five different things all at the same time. Nonetheless, we managed to put a tent up successfully after a few attempts with some gentle persuasion when it came to putting in the poles and pegs.
While it wasn’t quite what I had anticipated, I thoroughly enjoyed the training day even though I had to go to school on a Saturday. Hopefully, the knowledge I learnt will prove to be helpful when I go on my actual expedition.
Isabelle Secord – Newstead Wood School For Girls
