Campion School students complete their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition

In July we were privileged to host on their first night a team from Campion School in Northamptonshire who were doing their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Expedition. The centre and cottage are ideal for D of E Group expeditions as they are able to use the centre for the first night and then the groups supervisors can make use of the cottage. The following report is taken from the Campion School website.

True to the ethos of The Award, the sixth-form students organised practically everything for themselves. This included booking the camp sites, making travel arrangements and booking an assessor.

Despite leaving early on Friday afternoon to avoid traffic, they still got caught up in traffic jams and heavy rain. After 4 hours on the road, the group finally arrived at Yr Hen Felin Cynwyd Activity and Mountain Centre (near Corwen), just outside of the Snowdonia National Park. Luckily, 4 days of glorious sunshine followed.

During the first evening at Yr Hen Felin Activity Centre, Steve Layt, the group’s excellent assessor, did a pre-expedition check to make sure the group were well equipped. After a good breakfast, the team began their expedition. They hiked from around Llandrillo to Llangynog and Bala Lake. This included three nights’ camping. They tackled challenging areas requiring careful navigation as their routes are relatively un-walked or unmarked.

At the end of the expedition, the group were very tired but incredibly pleased and satisfied with their achievement. They worked extremely well together and are a credit to themselves and Campion School. Thank you to Steve and Kay Layt who were nearby throughout the entire expedition. We are looking forward to seeing their presentation based on the aim of their expedition “The sky and its wonders”. We wish them well with completing the remaining sections of The Award. All being well, they will be presented with The Gold Award at St James’ Palace in 2012.

The team consisted of Rachel Dickson, Larissa Gardner, Lydia Prince, Kelly Oakley, Kizzy Jurgon, Dale Thomas, Matthew Chatting