Westhaven School

'an outstanding school' (Ofsted)

     Year 10   -  Duke of Edinburgh Award camping expedition

Practice Camping Expedition

9th and 10th May

We left Westhaven at 1.30pm in high spirits with the mini bus packed with equipment and enough food to feed us for a week!  There were slight rain showers whilst we were travelling, but we kept our spirits up by singing songs and persuading ourselves that the sun was due to break through at any minute. 

We arrived at our site in Charterhouse and were greeted by the lovely couple, Keith and Linda owners of the grounds that we were staying in.  Little did we know then how much we would appreciate their hospitality!

We managed with the help of Bob, our D of E advisor, to pitch a large frame tent which at least provided somewhere dry for us to eat and keep our supplies.

The students were eager to explore and Linda and Keith had offered to help them make nest boxes that they could take home with them. This kept them occupied and allowed us to pitch our tents and unload our stuff from the mini-bus.

One by one Bob helped the students pitch their tents and set their bedding up for the night.

We met our actual Duke of Edinburgh assessor and he helped Nathan pitch his tent.

Whilst it was still dry the students started to cook their own tea on the trangia stoves under the watchful eye of Bob and Natasha.

James produced a pasta meal and declared it the most delicious meal he had ever tasted!

Nathan managed to spill some of his soup over the D of E assessor but still enjoyed what he had left!

We cooked tea just in time as the heavens opened and we all took shelter in the big tent.  Linda and Keith invited the students to make a hedgehog box and between this, playing cards and making mugs of hot chocolate, we whiled away the hours until bedtime.We had an uneventful night, only interrupted by someone snoring and James and Joe making a noisy trip across the field in the early hours.

Joe woke us up early, but not with a cup of tea!  He was packed up and ready to have a ride on the tractor that Keith had promised him!

Breakfast was a joint effort with everyone in charge of a pan.  We packed up and were ready to leave for Charterhouse woods by 9.30 am for our orienteering exercise.  Joe, Nathan and James walked across the fields and we travelled by minibus with Helen.  Maps were given to us that had points of interest for us to find, and pictures.  We walked about a mile and made shelters out of wood left behind.

We packed up earlier that anticipated as the weather was closing in and we were all exhausted.

We plan to return to the site to have our bonfire, cancelled due to the weather, and a tractor ride (also cancelled due to the tractor not starting!)

The students proved to us that they could meet the personnel challenges we set for them, and they kept their spirits up and showed us what a resilient bunch they are!

Great thanks to Keith, Linda, and Bob. We couldn’t have done it without them.

 Ellesmere Road, Uphill, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset. BS23 4UT   Tel: 01934 632171   Fax: 01934 645596   see map