Year 9 Mountaineering Club Trip to Snowdonia

Silver DofE Qualifying Expedition on Exmoor

Year 8 Expedition Club

Year 8 Expedition Club

 

This weekend the Year 8 Expedition Club visited the Forest of Dean. Arriving on Saturday evening, the group put up their tents at the Biblins campsite by the River Wye and then had a go at fire lighting using flint and steel. As darkness fell they crossed the Biblins Bridge into the forest for some night orienteering before enjoying a camp fire and roasted marshmallows before bed. On Sunday morning the group had a go at kayaking on the River Wye. All of the pupils improved impressively during the session and by the end of it were confidently crossing the lower reaches of the Symond’s Yat rapids. After a restorative packed lunch the group returned to school for a well-deserved rest.

 

Ten Tors Expedition

On the weekend of 10^th – 12^th May the Ten Tors Expedition took place on Dartmoor and all three Kingswood teams made good use of the excellent weather and visibility to complete their routes in impressive times. The expedition started at 7am on Saturday and all three teams finished by noon on Sunday. The expedition is the culmination of six training weekends and represents a considerable commitment for the pupils involved . The two Year 10 teams completed their 35 mile routes confidently -navigating independently across Dartmoor and being entirely self-sufficient. The Sixth Form team also completed their challenging 45 mile route and were the 2^nd fastest team on their route. Particular mention must go to Casper Bruhn-Parry who completed the 45 mile route for the second time, having also achieved this in Year 11 last year, and to Jack Wheaton who, as a Year 10 pupil stepping up to the sixth form team, is the youngest Kingswood pupil to have completed the 45 mile route.

Ten Tors Trial Run

Despite the best efforts of Storm Hannah which brought very high winds to Dartmoor for much of the weekend all three groups trained very well. Due to the very poor weather, alternative accommodation was found for Friday night in an old barn which was kindly lent by a farmer at short notice. The groups then walked over 20 miles on the north moor in very windy conditions on Saturday before wild camping on the moor. Putting up tents was a challenge but fortunately the wind dropped during the night and Sunday’s walk was much easier.