Jan 11, 2012
22 students from the College Sixth Form have been undergoing rigorous training for the expedition section of the Duke Of Edinburgh’s Gold Award.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award is a nationally recognised programme which aims to inspire, guide and support young people in their self-development and recognise their achievement. The programme is highly valued by universities and employers who are seeking well motivated, tenacious and hardworking individuals. The whole award can take between 18-24 months to complete and students must successfully complete five sections; Voluntary work, Skills (a hobby), Physical (sport activity), a 5 day Residential and Expedition.
In order to fulfil the Expedition section of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award, the students are required to plan and carry out an expedition in a remote location. Working in teams, they have to navigate their route and camp overnight to fulfil the criteria. In previous years, students from the College have planned and completed expeditions in the Yorkshire Dales and the Rhinogs, a remote area of Snowdonia.
In preparation for this gruelling challenge, students participating in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award take part in several training sessions, learning all the skills they’ll need to accomplish this task. Recently the group have hiked in areas of East Lancashire – including iconic Pendle Hill!
Jayne Butterworth, Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator at College said, “Although the weather on Pendle was predictably cold and windy, all of the students completed the training walk and learnt a lot about being prepared for all weathers!”
The group will next be taking part in a night-time hike in the local area, before completing their main expedition from the 2nd – 6th July, in the Rhinogs.
