In the modern world, one becoming increasingly dominated by screens, there is a growing need for the younger generation to spend time reconnecting with the great outdoors. The Duke Of Edinburgh’s award not only comes with a high level of prestige and encourages students to take an active role in doing their part for their local community, but provides the opportunity to take an expedition in natural areas of England they wouldn’t have otherwise seen. 

For silver Dofe, the requirements in order to complete the expedition component of this program include 3 days and 2 nights of exercising vital survival skills such as carrying all necessary supplies on your back (including food) and being able to comfortably read map bearings. The sense of self-sufficiency is essential to the expedition, and although it can certainly be a gruelling experience, it is one not many feel remorse looking back on. 

The difficulty of navigating through unfamiliar terrain is one that isn’t a feature in bronze - for example, Headington Girls School’s Bronze Expedition in 2022 was held in Oxford, where most teammates were familiar with the area and therefore not likely to easily lose their way. However, the added challenge in the silver level of the program is the idea that students are not familiar with the area and therefore must rely solely on their paper map and planned route (once again without access to electronic navigation services such as Google maps).

As a silver expeditionist myself, I speak for my whole team when I say that the expedition is not just testing for physical endurance, but a journey in which participants can form strong connections with their teammates in order to collaborate and communicate effectively with one another - creating lasting memories that they will not soon forget.