FOUR King’s Ely International students have completed their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Qualifying Expedition.
The team of intrepid Year 13 students – Ching-Han Chiang, Chun Kei Chow, Eugenia Tsang & Tsz Chun Tsang – successfully completed the expedition in the Peak District.
Starting near the village of Hathersage, the students spent four days independently traversing the wild country moorland of the Dark Peak to finish at Tintwhistle, just east of Manchester. Altogether, they walked a distance of over 60 kilometres and camped at three remote sites.
Assistant Director of Outdoor Education at King’s Ely Senior, Martin Bray, said: “The weather was clear and bright for the first two days with some cloud and rain on the last two days to bring some trickier navigation challenges, but they coped admirably with route finding and the conditions underfoot. Congratulations to all four students, who showed great enthusiasm and persistence in both the build-up and throughout the trip to complete their objectives.”
The expedition was held as part of the Ely Scheme at King’s Ely, which aims to build important life skills that cannot always be taught in the classroom. While most independent schools have an outdoor pursuits programme, the Ely Scheme is both unique and central to the whole King’s Ely experience, as young people are given tangible opportunities to push themselves to achieve beyond anything they ever thought possible.
The aim is to develop each individual student through outdoor education and adventurous activity, concentrating on eight major elements: personal skills; self-confidence; teamwork; leadership skills; social and environmental awareness; problem solving; ability to cope with difficult situations and healthy respect for nature and the outdoors.