Thirty-nine Year 9 students from Plymstock School participated in their Bronze Practice Expedition for their Duke of Edinburgh’s award on Saturday 20th – 21st May. This was their practice expedition preparing them for their Qualifying Expedition in a few weeks.

The aim of the expedition programme is for students to develop team participation, map, and cooking skills, alongside their appreciation for the outdoors. As part of the weekend the students had to be completely self-sufficient: so, they had to carry everything they needed on their backs, including camping and cooking equipment, first aid kits, enough food for 2 days and contend with the warm weather.

It was a great weekend! The weather was finally on our side, the students showed real resilience and were as always, a real credit to the school. Every student’s DofE journey is as unique as them, but a theme common to all our participants is that DofE gives them the chance to prove to themselves what they are capable of. I want to thank Ronnie Carter, Paul Gerry, Nick Riden, Sarah Hordern, Kate Burt and Elaine Whitehead for their time and energy invested in helping our students this weekend.