Another milestone completed as pupils work towards DofE and ASC Awards

 

The pupils at Stepping Stones School are marching ahead at a staggering pace as they work towards Duke of Edinburgh and Adventure Service Challenge Awards schemes.

Both programmes are immensely challenging but rewarding which develops many different skills, from social interaction and collaboration, to more technical skills in navigation and camping. Another huge outcome for these young people is the confidence and self-esteem that they build as they challenge themselves and succeed. These moments can be small, such as making the right choice as to which direction to follow when hiking, through to completing the whole challenge.

As the photographs on the following pages will show, these pupils had a fantastic time hiking to a remote location between Dockenfield and Headley Down, nr. Farnham, Surrey. The route was pre-planned and covered a distance of approximately 4km. We setup camp on a patch of grass which was adjacent to a building that we could use when the sun went down for evening activities.

The pupils erected dome tents and prepared their sleeping quarters. It was very soon time to prepare dinner, and they set about making the stoves, we used a wide range of stoves, including gas, methylated spirits and paraffin. This gave them a wide understanding of the benefits of each stove. The evening meal consisted of mashed potato, sausage and peas, followed by a yoghurt for dessert.

A few evening games later (flying Kim's game and team games) they were all ready for bed. Luckily, the hike had properly worn them out and they promptly fell asleep within minutes of their heads hitting the pillows.

The following morning the pupils made a cooked breakfast - porridge, with bacon, eggs and bread.

Take a look at the photographs taken during the first day.

Submitted by Jonathan Furness on Sun, 2007-10-14 01:17.
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Submitted by visitor on Sun, 2007-10-14 14:25.

Well done guys, looks like you had a great time.

See you Tuesday

Diana

Submitted by visitor on Sun, 2007-10-14 17:27.

What a fantastic experience - well done all of you! I can see from the photos that you had a great time. What an amazing things to do. Good luck to you all as you work towards your awards!

Submitted by visitor on Mon, 2007-10-15 00:15.

Looking forward to you guys camping at Sundial some time.....I can then come out and join you for sausages but still return to my nice warm bed :-) Well done all.

Submitted by visitor on Mon, 2007-10-15 09:52.

Golly gosh that was a lot of hiking. I think Jonathan might at least have provided you all with these:


Or else what is science for!!

(but well done though on the DoE stuff - awesome!)

Submitted by visitor on Mon, 2007-10-15 13:37.

Well done everyone - what an adventure and what superb photos! Next year you will be entered for the Three Peaks!

Submitted by visitor on Mon, 2007-10-15 16:04.

Looks like you all had a fantastic time! Ryan certainly did!! I have never seen him so worn out! Well done to all of you.

Submitted by visitor on Mon, 2007-10-15 18:05.

Hi Guys!

Wow, I must say great teamwork by you all, especially with erecting the tents, cooking the meals and of course navigating the route! ☺
Certainly seems that you are enjoying the challenges! I can see you all doing your Gold's at some stage! ☺You are all achieving so well and having fun at the same time which is what D of E and ASC Awards are all about! ☺ I should know as I've just passed my D of E Gold, last week! I should soon be going to St. James's Palace in London to collect my award from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh ....

Keep up the excellent work but have fun too! ☺

Katy x

Submitted by visitor on Thu, 2007-10-18 13:48.

Well, the gravy tasted ok in the end - everyone ate it didn't they? :-)

Hope everyone recovered ok. I think you all did fantastically well.

Claire x

Submitted by visitor on Mon, 2007-10-22 12:10.

WOW, looked like you had a grrrrreat time camping. Love the photo's well done everyone. xxxx