D of E Bronze qualifying expedition

For the last 2 days I have been assessing a group of 6 young people from Manchester Enterprise Academy (MEA) on their 2 day Duke of Edinburgh Bronze qualifying expedition. To me and the rest of the supervisors they were known as the ‘Purples’, due to the colour of their rucksack covers, but to the young ones, they had called themselves the ‘Purple Turtles’, as their large packs looked like a large turtle shell.

Day 1 started with introductions, kit checks and a briefing to explain to the team as to what was expected from them. They then started on a tough 9.6 mile walk, with some steep hills, heavy packs and hot weather. I accompanied them for a while, but then cut them loose to navigate on their own, then a few hours later they arrived at the camp site still smiling. Tents up and a substantial hot meal before they eventually settled down for the night.

Day 2 was a much wetter but a shorter day, and the group were totally self reliant for navigation. The day started with a slight navigational error, but they recognised their mistake and were eventually back on track. The day finished with a debrief, coffee and cake and I am pleased to say that they all passed. Well done guys

During the 2 days I was looking at 4 key areas, (R.A.N.T) Respect (for themselves, team mates, instructors, members of the public, country code etc, Admin (camp craft, packing their rucksack, looking after their kit etc), Navigation (simple route following, half bearings, contours) and Teamwork (how they supported their colleagues).

Over the 2 days I saw some brilliant examples of teamwork, very supportive of each other and they managed to convince one of the team who had aching feet and having second thoughts, to finish the walk. Very impressed with this team, who worked hard, supported each other and dug deep when it got tough. Many thanks to Keiran, a volunteer from Lloyds bank and Stuart for your valuable help over both days. Now to do some paperwork and reports for D of E