Climb every mountain

An intrepid group of Claremont students ford every stream in pursuit of their DofE dream

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award Expedition takes a lot of dedication and perseverance. The aim is to inspire young people to develop initiative and a spirit of adventure by planning, training for and completing a self-sufficient journey as part of a team. The expedition must be a minimum of 4 days and 3 nights with 8 hours planned activity each day.

This year’s Claremont cohort numbered ten students in total, all either in Year 13 or on their way to university: Aallaa Akasha, Amaani Bakrania, Daniel Bouaziz, Vithoosha Chandirabalan, Niyana Kerai, Gillian Melo, Sohan Mepani, Rubina Raayeesa, Pia Ramjee and Shreeya Rughani. Together with Ms Kerai, Claremont’s DofE Co-ordinator, they enjoyed the stunning views of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, returning with a feeling of satisfaction and fulfilment having completed a truly challenging expedition.

Vithooshha was struck by their ability to effectively build a team: ‘We understood each other and built a strong group dynamic over the four days.’ Niyana agrees: ‘When we got lost and found our way back, we just thought, “We need to get through this…” That was a highlight for me because we worked together to return to camp.’

For others, the landscape made the biggest impact. ‘Seeing the views was a highlight,’ says Aallaa, ‘and the heights were spectacular, no matter how scared I was.’ Daniel and Sohan concur: ‘Beautiful views that are definitely worth the climb!’ Though they admit it was hard work: ‘It's a gruelling and sweaty task but it taught us perseverance and resilience.’ Gillian and Rubina were equally enthused by the experience and are keen to get their families involved: ‘This trip has inspired me to hike more in my spare time. I’m going to take my parents mountain climbing.’

Ms Kerai was evidently impressed by her students: ‘I have never seen a cohort work together with such commitment and awareness of each other’s strengths, supporting each other and navigating their journey through the Yorkshire Dales. They have truly grown into incredible individuals through their shared DofE adventure over the years.’

With the support of Wildside Outdoors, who help to run the expeditions, Ms Kerai’s certainly inspired her charges, some of whom definitely want to follow in their footsteps… ‘Just imagine,’ says Niyana, ‘in ten years’ time, we could be Assessors!’ With such passion and enthusiasm, we don’t doubt it.