On Sunday, our new DofE Bronze group as well as some direct entrants for the Silver Award had their first outing. After a week that has been a bit challenging with regards to weather, we were blessed with dry weather and sunshine. In two groups, we walked about 10 km, starting from school, and did some hands-on navigation training: We looked at footpaths and bridleways, at different types of field boundaries, and what at what the orange contour lines on an OS map look like in real life. Also, everybody had a go at carrying a big, expedition sized rucksack – and it went quite well. This walk hopefully gave our new DofE Bronze group a first idea of navigation, which will be built up in the spring, during more training sessions inside and outside the classroom, so that they will be well prepared for their final qualifying expedition. 

Regine Trotter, Duke of Edinburgh Manager