In October, 37 Year 10s ventured to Meopham, Kent to face their biggest fears on the Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award practice expedition. With memories of the sore shoulders, muddy feet and long walks still fresh from the Bronze expeditions, everyone was quite nervous! 

We spent three days in the middle of nowhere and walking 20km (or 25,000 steps) per day. At the campsite, we set up our tents where we would spend the night huddling like penguins to conserve body heat. We cooked our own food and drank our body weight in hot chocolate. Our group had packets of dehydrated mac & cheese which was both crunchy and watery at the same time.

While it was hard, we had a lot of fun as well - for example, Group 1 found some deck chairs on the side of the road and carried them back to the campsite. This made for a much more comfortable campsite experience!

We are all looking forward to the qualifying expedition in March in the New Forest. 

Written by Ali, Year 10