Canoeing for Gold Along the Severn
Sixteen Upper Sixth students spent four days paddling to complete the Assessed Expedition section of their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, setting off at the end of the first week of term.
Split into three self-sufficient groups, the students travelled from just south of Oswestry to Bewdley on the River Severn, covering almost 120 km in two-person canoes. The first night, they had the luxury of composting toilets, while on the second night, all were camping in an open field. The groups faced the full range of British weather with sunshine at the start followed by heavy rain over the weekend. The teams had to use tarpaulins to create shelters to cook in the dry. The students coped admirably with all the variable UK weather thrown at them, including as they canoed fast on the last day, navigating the flowing water after all the downpours and arriving early to their final destination.
There was much laughter and fun along the way, and numerous kingfishers were spotted. One of the Upper Sixth students on the trip, Katy, commented, “I have really enjoyed working through the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards including completing volunteering and all other aspects, and then taking part in the Practice and Assessed Expeditions. It has sometimes been challenging but we have all helped and encouraged one another, especially when the weather conditions made it difficult. We are very grateful to the teachers who have provided these opportunities and supported all of us. I would thoroughly recommend taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards; we have great memories from the experience and are now looking forward to collecting our Gold Awards at Buckingham Palace!”
All of the students successfully completed their Assessed Expedition section of the Award, with some students now having completed their whole Gold Award which is a considerable achievement. Many thanks to the staff for giving up their time and congratulations to all the students involved.
Mr Gwilym Batchelder, Head of Design Technology and Head of the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award