58 students departed school last Friday afternoon for the windy, cold and damp (but still very beautiful) South Downs National Park. This would be our training ground for the weekend while we undertook the Silver DofE practice hikes. We arrived under cover of darkness and quickly set about building camp; our chief obstacle being the ground, which had decided it not longer wished to be solid, preferring instead a more liquid state. In a sea of mud, our tents became life-boats.
Saturday was mercifully dry and bright, at least to begin with. We ventured up onto the Downs to drink in the views of the south coast and enjoy our first full day of walking, guided by a DofE assessor. The evening saw the weather come in heavily, and the groups took shelter in a scout hut while planning walking routes for the following day. Rumours whizzed around the cohort that FHS staff had ordered pizzas from a nearby takeaway, but nothing was ever proven, and enquiries are still underway. The highlight of the evening was a surprise visit from FHS’ own Ms Shevah, who donned her wellies and circulated around the campsite, boosting morale and encouraging the tired, wet and muddied masses.
Sunday was a mud bath. The coach company may never forgive us. With visibility at nearly zero, everyone had to rely on their compasses and pacing to complete their routes successfully. I am pleased to report that 58 students made it to the departure point at Burgess Hill by 14:30, and we were soon on our way back to London to begin the long process of drying out our kit and ourselves and preparing for the final assessment expedition in September!
We would all like to extend a particular thanks to the staff of Outcome Focused Adventures for their guidance and help on the expedition; we would also like to offer an enormous thank you to Ms Ballie-Whyte, Ms Ramage and Ms Stansfield for volunteering their time to accompany us over the weekend.
