Latest News

So the 14^th and 15^th of May came and it was time for the first ever HABE Duke of Edinburgh’s expedition out in the wilds of Kent. Although the weather was most definitely against us the students did us and themselves proud showing all the qualities of resilience and resourcefulness we would expect from our Academy students. I will leave it to our resident Speak out champion Ryan Parson to give you an insider’s view of events…

Oh my gosh... three words that perfectly encapsulate the pain I experienced whilst undergoing my PRACTICE expedition for the DOfE Bronze. On the first day it was non-stop rain. Looking at the weather forecast one would expect the rain cloud to only be above my dampened head for a few hours. I was wrong. I have never experienced in my life so much rain. Despite the abominable weather conditions, the seven-mile walk (it was meant to five, until our 'guide' made us lose our bearings) was rather pleasant. That was until we encountered three separate fields of horses. Yes, you would expect that to be a good thing - you're wrong. Upon nervously following the public footpath, a very friendly horse began to approach us; its intrepid enthusiasm is what scared us the most. Obviously it was hungry or something or it enjoyed making four teenagers and one adult run across a field holding each other's backpacks. Upon our arrival back to camp everyone was exhausted; we were hungry and desperately needing the bathroom! But before we could enjoy the luxuries of camping... we had to first make our tents. In the rain. After half-an-hour of constructing our shelters for the night, I thought it was best to start cooking dinner, which was of course my delectable, Italian carbonara. The powerful smell of the pancetta was quite overwhelming, especially for Mr Wilkinson, who was waiting patiently for his fish n' chips. Eventually dinner was served a la rainwater, no one complained so I assumed it was a success! After dinner everyone was so tired that we all went to bed, it was a great sleep... the two hours flew by!

By the morning of day two, with less than 130 minutes of shut-eye, I had to be ready for our final five-mile walk - I was in for a shock. Although this time we didn't encounter any horses, the amount of times I fell over was just as humiliating as day one's fiasco. It was a peaceful, yet tiring walk, but it allowed us time to take-in the breathtakingly stunning West Kent golf course with membership fees in the thousands. This hour of rest allowed all four of us some rest before we continued our home-stretch back to camp. By the time we finished our walk and arrived back at camp, the rain had stopped and we had the task of packing away the tents: I thought the twelve-mile expedition was tiring! Once everything was packed and the feeling of exhaustion was clearly reflected on everyone's faces it was time to go home and reflect upon the resilience, resourcefulness and reciprocity each of us put in that made sure that, irrespective of the weather, the expedition was enjoyable and one to remember. It also allowed us time to think about what we can do better for the assessed expedition in July and how we can work independently and reciprocally to make sure we get that deserved Bronze DOfE Award.

Ryan Parsons - Y10