No- The Duke of Edinburgh award states that the groups must be made up of between four and seven participants.
Yes, although if your group has less than four participants, we will join you with another group. There may also be occassions where we have to add people to your group, but we will dicuss this with you first.
The location of the expeditions depends on the level you are completing, and whether it is your practice or final expedition.
Bronze Practice- Local area around school (Tilford, Devils Punch Bowl)
Bronze Final- Surrey Hills
Silver Practice- Ashdown Forest
Silver Final- Dartmoor/ New Forest
Gold- We currently use all of the following areas for both our practice and final expedition; Brecon Beacons, Snowdonia, Dartmoor and The Lake District.
No- we have a store of kit that we are able lend participants. Before your expedition you will have the opportunity to request any items that you need to borrow. If you have your own equipment, you are welcome and encouraged to use this.
Wearing trainers is not advised. Whilst they may be comfortable, they do not provide the necessary support or protection for some of the terrain that you may cover. They are also not waterproof!
There is no set distance that you have to cover, however your expedition must be of the correct duration of planned activity. This varies between the levels:
Bronze- 6 hours of planned activity each day.
Silver- 7 hours of planned activity each day.
Gold- 8 hours of planned activity each day.
You planned activity time can include working towards your team goal whilst you are walking.
Yes, the campsites and areas we use for our expeditions means camping is necessary.
Students can share a tent with 2-3 people, of the same biological gender. These people do not necessarily have to be in your group, although this makes it easier when carrying tents. If this presents and issue, please contact dofe@bohunt.hants.sch.uk.
No, for safeguarding reasons all students will need to share a tent with at least one other person.
Below are some examples of food that you could bring on your expeditions.
Lunch
Sandwiches/ wraps
Pittas
Crisps
Fruit
Dinner
Boil in the bag
Pasta and Sauce
Pot noodles or similar are not advised due to their poor nutritional value
Snacks
Sweets
Dried Fruit
Graze box (or similar)
Pepperami
Please avoid nuts, due to allergies of staff/ students on the expeditions
Breakfast
Boil in the bag
Porridge
Cereal bars (combined with something else)
Hydration
Students should ensure that they have at least 2 litres of water with them at the start of each day.
For more advice you can also visit the Duke of Edinburgh website here.
On the first day of their practice expedition, students will walk with a trained leader. This is to ensure they have the necessary training and skills before having to walk by themselves.
For the rest of their practice and their final expediton, students will be remotely supervised. They will have specific check points that they must pass through on their route, where leaders will be stationed to check on wellbeing and address any issues that the group may have.
Students will be given an emergency contact card which will be have the numbers of two school phones that will be held by 2 members of school staff. Students will be able to ring this number if they are lost.
The ratios of leaders: students also ensures that we can send leaders to look for groups if necessary.
Yes, however students are not allowed to use their phones to naviagte, play music or communicate (unless in an emergency) whilst they are on the expedition. Phones can be used to help work towards your team goal e.g. taking photos or keeping a log of their experience.
Please contact dofe@bohunt.hants.sch.uk, where we can then discuss the options with you.
Yes, you will learn all the necessary skills through after-school training and practice expeditions.
The initial sign up cost for Duke of Edinburgh is £60 for Bronze and Silver and £70 for Gold. This price includes:
Duke of Edinburgh registration fee
Licence Fee
Contribution to leader training
Contibution to Kit and Equipment maintenance
Each expedition will incur further costs, which we keep as minimal as possible.
A team goal is something that the participants will collectively focus on throughout the duration of their expedition. This could include researching an area of interest, contibuting to a community action project, or developing soft skills.
Where possible, we will accomdate requests to move between expeditions, but this will be done on an individual basis. Where there is no option to move, you can look for an Approved Activity Provider or we can speak to another school in the Trust.