Silver DofE Practice Expedition

Concord College is an amazing place full of joy and opportunities but at the same time difficult challenges. When I say difficult, I really mean it… This year, our DofE Bronze students are prepared and excited for the Silver DofE award which is totally a next level ahead. For those who may not know what DofE is, it stands for the ‘Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’ which is a voluntary, non-competitive programme of activities for anyone aged 14-24.

Participants have to push themselves out of their comfort zone to finish a 3-days & 2-nights expedition walk. As many participants said, it’s life-changing. Completing my Bronze DofE Award has taught me that the challenges and pain you face along the way are only temporary, the success and achievement last a lifetime! It has shaped me as a more confident person. Memorable adventures and life-long friendships were made through the expedition walk.

Although camping for 2 nights and walking for 3 days with an extremely heavy and massive rucksack almost made me want to give up, my friends were always there to support and push me to finish this challenging but new journey in my life. As my groupmate, Augustine always said,” We came prepared, so nothing can stop us but ourselves.” I am really glad that I can take part in this unforgettable and meaningful journey with my friends.

Featured below is what fellow Silver DofE participant, Anna, had to say about going through those sweet and bitter moments in the DofE Silver practice walk from 13/10 – 15/10.

Sam Kwok – F5

 

I had a very nice Silver DofE practice expedition last weekend from 13th to 15th October – Friday to Sunday. There were seven people in my group: Myself, Wenxiu, Helen, Sam, Augustine, Mild and Carla. We were accompanied by some teachers each day.

The first day was the easiest of all as the routes were easy, so we got to the campsite quite early because we didn’t get lost – though the weather wasn’t very good because it was raining and windy. In the evening I decided to do my biology revision in preparation for a test the very next Monday. We had a very nice sleep that night because we were all exhausted from climbing up a couple of steep hills in the morning.

The second day was the best of all. The weather was rather cool. We were all excited to do our second day of walking so we were chatting along while walking and I even started to sing with some of my friends which made for a good mood! The only downside was that sometimes we forgot to check the route regularly (as we were too busy singing) and we went to the wrong direction, without realising for ages. In fact, we ended up walking an extra 3km, and we got to the campsite pretty late.

There was also a bit of disaster going on with our rice-cooking at night. The rice was sort of burnt and stuck to the pan because we hadn’t put enough water in… And it took ages for us to get rid of the solidified burn marks on the pan! However, we roasted some marshmallows over the gas cooker and it was great fun. Also, there were so many stars in the sky – I couldn’t even resist watching them! We could see the Milky Way and I was so amazed by it… We simply rested on the ground together and watched the stars in silence, and for the first time I realised everything was so quiet around us… and that’s how it’s like to live surrounded by nature.

The third day was the last day of our journey. I could feel the pain in my feet, legs, my back and my shoulders. We set off quite early as we were all keen to get back to school. However, we were walking very slowly in the morning because we still needed to develop our navigation skills after waking up early. We had to make sure that we knew exactly where we were going so that we wouldn’t get lost again. Mr Tilson suggested a very good technique about navigation, which is having your aim of the next 200m, and when you achieve it, set up the next goal. Short term goals are easier to achieve.

We started speeding up our pace after lunch, but as predicted we made some mistakes and we got a bit lost which wasted all the time we saved from walking fast in the first place. It was quite late (5:30pm) when we got to the second-to-last check point, so the teachers agreed to pick us up and drive us straight back to Concord. Everyone was happy after all because we finally finished our three-day-expedition, and to be honest, I really enjoyed it!

Upon reflection, I have learned a lot from the expedition. Firstly, I have developed navigation skills – I think that we wouldn’t get lost again in our actual expedition and I hope we will be faster too. Secondly, I made some new friends.  Four of the members of my group who I had not known before are now friends with me because we talked a lot during the expedition. Thirdly, I had a lot of fun during the camping itself. I learned how to cook better, set up tents quicker and overall, become more organised… because in DofE I have to carry literally everything I need with me, in order to survive. Now I have a more comprehensive idea about how to live as a person in such environments, surrounded by the great nature.

Anna Zhang – F4