Year 12 Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Practice Expedition – Yorkshire Dales

Wednesday 4 July – Sunday 8 July 2018

Your son/daughter has met the requirements to continue with their Gold award and now they have the opportunity to take part in the Gold DofE practice expedition to the Yorkshire Dales. Detailed in this letter are the instructions and costs of the practice expedition only based on 15 students participating in the expedition.

We will be travelling by minibus, meeting in south school car park at 7:45am on Wednesday 4 July. Students are advised to check all personal and team equipment prior to leaving Redborne. We expect to return on Sunday 8 July at approximately 3:00pm. Students will be given the opportunity to phone with an estimated arrival time on route on the way back to school. You will need to take responsibility for your son or daughter’s onward journey on their way home.

A guide to the programme for the weekend is:

Wednesday 4th July

7:45am                                 Meet at South School car park.

2pm (approx.)                   Arrive at base camp – High Laning Campsite in Dent.

Staff from Lupine Adventure Cooperative will meet us at High Laning Campsite. Staff to do some basic training at campsite/surrounding countryside for afternoon and early evening.

8pmMeal/preparation time. All groups stay at High Laning Campsite

 

Thursday 5th July

7am                                       Wake up/pack away/clean campsite (leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories!) Students will have planned routes (on Sunday 5th March) for the next 3 days already so will be trekking around the Yorkshire Dales. Routes will include the summits of most of the Yorkshire Three Peaks (Ingleborough, Whernside, Pen-y-Ghent). Staff will be training students throughout these next 3 days.

5pm                                       Estimated time of arrival at campsite 1 (students will book this campsite upon planning their routes).

 

Friday 6th July 

7am                                       Wake up/pack away/clean campsite (leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories!) Students will leave campsites around 9am.

5pm       Estimated time of arrival at campsite 2 (students will book this campsite upon planning their routes).

 

Saturday 7th July

7am                                       Wake up/pack away/clean campsite (leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories!) Students will leave campsites around 9am.

4-5pm                                   Estimated time for all groups to arrive at their final check point for pick up and transfer to base camp at High Laning Campsite in Dent. Meal and time to reflect on the expedition and memories at High Laning Campsite.

 

Sunday 8th July

7am                                       Wake up/pack away/tidy campsite

9am (approx.)                   Estimated time of departure

3pm                                       Estimated time of arrival at South School car park, Redborne.

 

Throughout the expedition staff will be camping at High Laning Campsite and Farm, Dent. We will be using the company Lupine Adventure Cooperative to train and supervise the groups during the day and on arrival at the campsites.

Emergency contact numbers will be given to parents/carers nearer the time of the expedition but I would like to reiterate that I am trying to encourage a sense of self-reliance and independence, so I would insist that students did not phone home during the expedition. I do however recognise the need for students to be able to call for assistance when necessary so I am willing to allow each group to carry one mobile phone between them (this will be in addition to a mobile that Lupine will also issue to each group). The student carrying the mobile device must present it to myself in the Yorkshire Dales so that it can be switched off and sealed in a waterproof container. This must only be opened if the group feel that they cannot continue without help but the procedures for this will all be explained to students on the training day on Sunday 22 April. This arrangement has made students and parents/carers feel more comfortable during previous expeditions. It does rely on cooperation from all to allow this important safety procedure to function, so I would ask that you do not call any of the contact numbers carried by the students.

Additional Information

In order to provide a student-friendly means of communication I have taken the plunge into the realms of social media and set up a Redborne Gold DofE Twitter page which has the account @RedborneGold under the name of Redborne Gold DofE. Most of this years Gold cohort are now following this twitter page and it allows me to post information such as dates for training days and links to important documents. Please feel free to follow this twitter page in order for you to also receive this information and I endeavour to use this twitter page during the expedition for myself only to provide photos and updates on each group’s progress.

Just a reminder that the date for the assessment expedition is 13-18 September in Snowdonia. The students will receive another letter about the September Snowdonia Assessed Expedition soon but keep an eye on the twitter page to discover the release date!

The students are required to plan their routes for the Snowdonia expedition in September. Students will again attend compulsory route planning sessions nearer the time.

If you have any questions regarding this trip then please do not hesitate to contact me at stwscutt@redborne.beds.sch.uk.