Harrogate Grammar resumes outdoor activities as lockdown eases

More than 200 students have completed outdoor sections of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award challenges at Harrogate Grammar School this month, in another sign of life getting back to normal.

Eighty year 11 students spent May Day bank holiday weekend completing the practice DofE bronze award expedition, which was called off when lockdown was imposed last year.

They then went straight on to the two-day expedition, which was the final challenge of the award that tests young people’s problem solving, life skills and resilience.

The next weekend an unprecedented 144 year 10 students completed training expedition walks aimed at developing their teamwork, communication and camping abilities ahead of their qualifying DofE bronze award expedition in June.

Neil Renton, headteacher at Harrogate Grammar School, said:

“It’s wonderful to see our students getting back to normal school life, including the Duke of Edinburgh Award challenge.

“Learning is not just about being in the classroom, the skills they develop through our wide range of extra-curricular activities will serve them well for life.”

Teachers Jake Kempton and Laura Chesworth organised the expeditions and said students were delighted to be back outdoors.

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Mr Kempton said:

“Seeing the looks on students’ faces and receiving feedback from parents shows the scheme has had such a positive impact.

“It would have been easy to cancel the expeditions again this year but after the challenging 12 months these young people have had we thought it was massively important to go ahead.

“We were particularly proud to deliver the expeditions this year as it felt like a fitting tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh. As teachers we take great joy in being out there with the students as part of an experience that creates lifelong memories.”

Ms Chesworth said it was crucial the year 11 students completed the outdoor expedition as they had spent the last two years completing the award’s other qualifying sections, which involve physical challenges, learning new skills and volunteering. She said:

“They’ve shown resilience, flexibility and worked hard to adapt their challenges to still meet the criteria during lockdown.

“We wanted to do them justice by seeing them complete the award as a whole.”

To satisfy the demand for DofE expedition places, extra staff volunteered to help supervise, and outdoor adventure organisers the Lupine Adventure Cooperative provided trained and qualified DofE expedition leaders.

Other school trips are now being planned as Harrogate Grammar School eases back towards normal teaching life.

Year 11 and year 13 are both having a day of fun at Flamingo Land next week.

Year 12s studying a BTEC in outdoor education have already resumed their practical studies and are taking part in their own expedition in Swaledale and Wensleydale.

Year 7 are looking forward to the humanities visit to Bolton Abbey and geography fieldwork trips are in the pipeline.

Plans are being made for a year 9 residential trip to the Lake District next spring.

PE fixtures have resumed for the summer term.

Column: A marriage that provided constancy through our challenges and joys

This column is written for the Stray Ferret by the Bishop of Ripon The Rt. Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, who reflects on the life of Prince Philip, his service to the nation and her experience of taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme: 

When I heard the news of the death of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh my mind was immediately taken back to my schooldays, and to the overnight expedition I took part in as part of my bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.

I am sure I am not alone in having such a memory.  These were definitely pre-internet days: myself and two friends had a map, a compass, and a carefully planned-out route.

We tramped through fields and forests, and set up our tent for the night in a field behind a pub somewhere in County Durham.

The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley

The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley

Thankfully it didn’t rain!  Corned beef hash was on the menu for dinner, and funnily enough I don’t think I’ve tried it since, which probably says less about my cooking skills aged 16 and more about developing food tastes as an adult!

Countless numbers of young people were pushed, challenged and in some cases saved by the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.

I read an article online following the Duke’s death, in which two men very much attributed the Award to setting them on the right path in life.  Maybe you have your own stories of taking part in expeditions, volunteering, learning a new skill?

HRH Prince Philip will perhaps best be remembered for his unwavering support of Her Majesty the Queen.  Married for 73 years (that’s amazing in itself), their lives witnessed so many ups and downs in global life: their constancy something of a foundational soundtrack to our own nation’s challenges and joys.

To live a life so much in the public eye, and at the same time to forge an identity filled with commitment to so many good causes: it’s hard to sum it up or do it justice in just a few paragraphs.

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HRH Prince Philip’s interest in the environment, sport, the armed forces (let’s not forget his own naval career), in agriculture and farming, to name but a few topics he was devoted to were in many ways commitments that underpinned so much of the uniqueness of our United Kingdom.

He will be remembered most of all however for a life lived in service and support of our Queen, our country, and the Commonwealth family of nations.  We salute and give thanks for him, and our love and prayers are with Her Majesty and all the Royal Family.