May 2, 2023

Year 12 students battle through the fog to complete Duke of Edinburgh expedition

Well done to the twenty Year 12 students who completed their Silver expedition at the start of the Bank Holiday weekend. Taking a healthy and welcome break from their GCSE revision, they covered an impressive 29km trek.

Extract from Mr Scott’s log:

“Day 1: the group set out from school for Shepherd’s Lodge. From here, they took on the tough climb along the Glen River to the Mourne Wall at the saddle between Donard and Commedagh. Battling through foggy conditions along the Brandy Pad, they eventually reached camp at Meelmore for a good night’s rest.

Day 2: the group moved off from Meelmore, heading for Tollymore, again in foggy conditions. Pure Games of Thrones. They eventually made their way back to school and, at last, glorious sunshine. A fitting end to a challenging but ultimately successful expedition.

Special mentions go to: Bradden Mooney, entrusted with ‘the shovel’; Sophie Neill who, following on from her victory in the Down athletics championships, set the pace; Naoise ‘hangry’ McManus who declared at the end, “I actually quite enjoyed that!’; Janneke Vos who packed away the tents on Day 2 in record time; Caiti Gorman who soldiered on without complaint and a smile on her face, despite a number of blisters; and Ben McLaughlin, who at Meelmore made lots of new female friends from Tyrone, showing off his skill in a game of ‘forty forty’ and even being inviting to a birthday party. Proud of you, Ben.”

Thank you to the staff team - Mr Scott, Mr Mayers, Ms McKibben, Ms Nicholls, Mr Peters, Mr Hanna and Ms Quinn - for giving up their time to support the group.