A group of QE Sixth-Formers who successfully undertook a gruelling Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition to Morocco have been praised for their initiative by their assessor.
Altogether 21 boys took part in the trip to Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains; 14 completed their DofE Gold award expedition, while a further seven took part in the trip purely for personal development.
The boys were accompanied by Christina Wu, Economics teacher and the School’s DofE co-ordinator, along with History teacher Laura Tobia and Biology teacher Martin Bassett-Jones. The bespoke QE expedition was a reward for the boys who were the first QE cohort to complete the Bronze and Silver awards in 2009 and 2010.
“The trip built on the trekking, navigation and campcraft skills the boys had learnt from their previous walking expeditions around the UK,” said Ms Wu. “With temperatures in the Atlas Mountains rising to 48°C at mid-day, Morocco provided a valuable and challenging experience for all of the Sixth-Formers. The strenuous trekking required a great deal of fortitude.”
Each of the four days of the expedition required eight hours of activity, with self-sufficiency a pre-requisite. In order to achieve the eight hours before temperatures became too high, the boys had to rise at 4am. They then shouldered their 20kg backpacks and walked to their next destination, contending with rugged terrain, high altitude and occasionally inaccurate maps.
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The boys were trailed at a distance by a DofE assessor, an expedition leader from Outlook Expeditions (a company which organises tailor-made Gold award expeditions) and two of the QE staff members. With no campsites and no toilets, the boys had to wash in rivers, identify clean water sources for drinking and generally manage personal hygiene.
“Many of the boys displayed a maturity beyond that usually seen in a classroom context. Most strikingly, they showed that they had the ability to encourage each other and to look out for each other’s welfare,” said Ms Wu. “The DofE students passed their assessment with flying colours; the assessor especially praised their initiative, good humour and resilience in the face of the daunting weather conditions, notably the excessive heat.”
The second group of boys enjoyed the opportunity to meet new people and experience new cultures. They did not have to carry their own equipment, making use of mules for transporting it. They covered much of the same ground as the DofE group with an additional six-hour day of walking.
On their return to Marrakech, all the boys and staff enjoyed exploring the city and took a day for relaxation at a water park.
To see a Youtube video of expedition highlights, please follow this link: http://youtu.be/HoA3cSJX30I