Bronze DofE Assessments with Shrewsbury School

Having been involved withe the training and practice expeditions over the last couple of months, it was great to be involved with the Bronze DofE assessments this week as well. It would be inappropriate to assess groups that you’ve already dealt with on training or assessment, but Shrewsbury School normally have about 16 walking groups going out each Summer, giving plenty of opportunity to work alongside new participants.

The last 6 days have been split into two 3 day cycles. Day one involving lots of admin such as updating the eDofE site (frustrating with those that can’t remember their passwords!), kit checks, route planning, shopping for expedition food and heading out for a shake out walk to practice important skills on the hill, before pitching tents for the night at Womerton Farm to the north of Church Stretton.

Enjoying the sunshine on the Long Mynd

Day two saw the groups starting their expeditions, heading in different directions to ensure that they were all operating independently of each other. On the first cycle, my group got off to a shaky start by leaving their fuel bottles behind and then loosing one of their two maps on the very first leg of their journey. However, after this dubious start, they actually performed very well, arriving in their camp site in good time to set up camp and enjoy a relaxed evening in the sunshine.

Day three (the second and final day of the expedition), had the groups working their way back to Womerton Farm by various different routes. Some of the navigation became more of a challenge as the cloud base dropped and visibility was reduced to 20m or so. However, my group managed to find their way through and arrived back at camp on time – relief!

The second cycle was much the same, although a much greater test of personal admin. With the weather turning for the worse and the rain always threatening , if not delivering, spirits were understandably a little lower this time round. However, the group really worked well together and kept each other going through the highs and lows. A commendable effort.

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