Over the Bank Holiday Weekend of 03-06 May 2024 nearly 100 staff and cadets from the Derbyshire Sector of Trent Wing assembled at Barn Farm in Birchover for their annual DofE Expedition Weekend, again made possible due to the kind sponsorship of the Ulysses Trust and RAF Charitable Trust.
This year was somewhat different in that due to the popularity of DofE now but still having instructors working towards qualifications there had already been two previous weekends to cover off Gold and Silver Practices, so well in excess of 100 cadets had done one form of expedition or another since the new season started in on 1st April.
The weekend is a great opportunity for the cadets to get to know each other across Sqns, even mixing teams so individuals could take part whereas they would struggle at Sqn level due to participation at that level. Likewise for the staff, a great opportunity to network which has seen numerous other sector events spawned over the past couple of years, and an opportunity for staff who have gained quals through our Lowland Leader, Camping Leader and DofE Assessor pathways in the past 12 months to cut their teeth – including CWO Sophie, the first to gain Lowland Leader and Camping Leader whilst still a cadet!!!!
As usual the cadets were divided into three tranches, Bronze, Silver Practice and Silver Qualifiers. The Bronze and Silver Practice Groups had the benefit of a training day on navigation and campcraft skills with a qualified instructor before moving on to their two-day assessed expedition, or two-day practice, whilst the silver assessed group were straight into their assessment on the Saturday morning.
The routes were all a mixture of lowland farmland, forest and handrailing rivers and steeped in history from the myth and legend of Robin Hood to the history of mining in the area and the natural beauty of routes such as Lathkill Dale or the Limestone Way. The cadets developed well over the few days and all gave solid performances to pass what historically is the most difficult section of the award to gain. This has set the sector up well for its ambitious, but achievable target of 100 awards at all levels for the 20242/5 counting period – with 21 cadets off to the Dolomites for Gold in the summer we really hope to make it, which would be amazing when you think the whole of Trent Wing made barely 100 following Covid in 2021/22, and we are one of 4 sectors.
A great effort by the cadets but a huge shout out to the staff who gave up their time to make the event happen, especially those who over the past 12 months have given up more time to gain NGB qualifications, and the staff team that has trained them!
“It was really interesting for me to be on the other side of the fence this year and realise how much goes on behind the scenes to make the event happen, and how much work the staff team do to make it a fun event for the cadets”
CWO S 1401 Sqn
“A very different experience to doing my DofE with school – much better organized event and I think I gained much more from it to prepare me for the challenges ahead”
FS B 2000 Sqn
