OUTDOOR EDUCATION & CCF
Once again coming into a New Year has seen us spring into action, thus far it has been a busy term with several expeditions heading out of school to the Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor and some more locally.
TEN TORS
We have a new approach this year focusing on getting out on multiple day expeditions to try and get ahead of our measurable progress from last year. We thank parents for their support and understanding with these events as it is difficult to forecast accurate timings, as the students develop their map and compass skills.
Day 2 provided quite challenging conditions, we were greeted by a fierce wind and poor visibility upon arriving at the start. This was a good experience for our students as it provided a clear picture of challenging conditions they can face on expedition. Whilst not comfortable to begin, it was a manageable environment as the route planned allowed us to drop out of the wind chill zone and into lower and less open terrain. Operating as two groups, group 1 proceeded to head over the ridge and drop down further into our training area. Group 2 dropped into the lower terrain earlier, operating in an area where footpaths had not been used regularly, the students really had to pay attention to small features to access the direction they needed to go. Sadly, the landowners in the area did not follow the Countryside Rights of Way Act and this made it trickier for the students. Nonetheless they persevered and began to start recognising contour shapes, this allowed for greater accuracy in their navigation. Group 1 who had dropped down later also had difficulty locating our public rights of way, towards the end of their route they did really well but were slightly later back to the bus. We hope this has helped the team understand that focus needs to be paid toward landscape recognition, rather than hoping there will be a path to follow.
We would like to introduce our assistant instructor Ben, he has been operating with the Ten Tors group to ensure we are delivering the highest quality instruction and learning for our students. Ben has been a Mountain Leader for many years and is currently working his way toward the Mountaineering Instructor Award, a very recognised qualification within the outdoor industry. He brings with him a wealth of experience of expeditions within the UK and as far as China!
Expedition training took us to the undulating terrain of the Brecon Beacons to begin with, we enjoyed two days in the area with contrasting conditions. Day 1 allowed us to walk to the stand alone hill of Cribarth, this warmed the group up and we then began to focus on picking up features and following compass bearings to navigational targets. The main outcome, was that the group clearly understood that our bearing would create a slight variation after every 100m and that we need to be mindful of treating it as our arrow of general direction, unless working in the micro navigation environment. Once the objectives of the day had been covered we headed back to the bunkhouse, allowing the team to rest before our evening meal.
Our second expedition saw us move South West, to the Dartmoor National Park. Mr Ryle now being familiar with the team took the lead with overseeing their training. They experienced two quality days on Dartmoor based out of our bunkhouse in Poundsgate, the first day saw them undertake plenty of turns along their route to really get them to grips with our Four D’s of navigation. They also made very good time over the course of this day and Mr Ryle and Miss Dovey were very impressed by their efforts. In the evening they spent time consolidating their learning by completing their route sheets, before resting for the evening. Day 2 had the team get up and go early, they were extremely efficient and made good time across to Hameldown Tor where they were met by Mr Fairnington.
www.matravers.wilts.sch.uk
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