I spent this weekend working for Shrewsbury School on a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh expedition training weekend. As it turned out, I wasn’t working with any of the boys from Shrewsbury School, but with 6 lads from Shrewsbury House. I’d never heard of The Shewsy, as it’s known, before but it has a long running connection with Shrewsbury School. Way back in 1903, one of the teachers from Shrewsbury School founded the Shrewsbury House Youth and Community Centre in Everton, and the connection has been maintained ever since. If you’re interested, you can find the Shewsy website at www.shrewsburyhouse.org.uk
The 6 lads were brought over to Shrewsbury School by a member of The Shewsy staff to join in with the DofE training program for the weekend. Their training was actually started by another instructor that I later teamed up with, but it soon transpired that they had a lot to learn and, for a while, it seemed like it was all going to be too much. However, once we got out to the campsite on Saturday evening, the pressure eased a little and the boys seemed to relax a bit more.
A couple of the group had had previous experience from being in the ACF (Army Cadet Force), but the others were completely new to a rural environment. As a result, sleeping in a sloping field with no toilet but a hay bale to pee on, was quite an experience! Some of the food choices went against all advice, leaving them well fed but with lots of weight and rubbish to carry the next day, but hopefully they won’t make the same mistake again.
The boys were oblivious to how fortunate they were that the sun was shining as we woke on Sunday morning. Being able to pack the tents away dry was a real blessing, but a few grumbles could be heard coming from the tents. Having said that, they were packed and ready to leave the campsite by 9am which is pretty impressive all things considered.
Carrying heavy rucksacks was a new experience for most but, once again, the lads surprised me with their lack of moaning. This meant that we could drip feed the navigation practice, slowly adding ideas and techniques. Three of the boys were keen to get to grips with the map work, while the others were more inclined to keep us entertained by flicking sheep poo at each other. To be fair, their games did include a bit of variety – cow poo and horse poo also had their turns!
An emergency scenario, where the other instructor pretended to break his leg, resulted in some role reversal. The three navigators were a bit more hesitant, but the others stepped in and (with a bit of guidance) took control of the situation. It was actually very reassuring to see them at work.
As the day’s walk drew to an end, we decided to give the group a bit more freedom. Checking that they knew both where they were and where they needed to go on the map, we let them walk independently of us to get back to the campsite. Although it wasn’t that far in terms of distance, there were a few awkward sections, but the group did very well. At one point, they could easily have followed another group whom they’d caught up with, but decided that they could see a better route on the map. Impressively, they stuck to their guns and were proved right.
The group still have a lot to learn, but I was really impressed by the breadth of skills they had between them, and their ability to use each individual’s strengths to the teams benefit. I wish them all the best, and hope they are ready for an assessment in the not too distant future.
