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CCF Cadet Navigation Exercise
On Thursday the 23rd May, roughly forty cadets went on a two-day camping expedition in the Sherwood Forest / Clumber Park area.
On the first day the cadets walked around 12k with a staff member accompanying them to reinforce their navigation skills. The groups were entirely random, so the cadets had to connect to new people and work as a team to correctly follow the routes. The first day had some cadets head-out from the campsite and work their way to a collection point and others worked their way back to the campsite.
When they arrived, they set up their tents and unpacked their stuff at the camp site. In the evening, the cadets all cooked their own meals on the trangers. In the evening the cadets engaged in many team-based sports such as Army vs RAF bench ball, football and hide and seek.
On the second day, groups walked a similar distance, however the heat made it much more challenging as they all made their way to Clumber Park. At Clumber Park the cadets could get ice-creams to cool off and mess about in the play area before the minibus journey home.
All the cadets had their own chance to navigate and successfully lead their group. Overall the exercise was a great learning experience for the cadets to properly understand how to navigate with a map and compass.
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award Practice Expedition
On Tuesday the 14th May, forty five students took part in their overnight practice expedition in the Market Rasen area. The students had to walk between 12 and 15km on both the Tuesday and Wednesday with their navigation skills taught through the DofE training.
The students were fortunate in the weather and it brightened up the day for those students worried about a wet walk or a cold tent. Equipped with only a map and compass the students worked their way through the pre-made routes carrying their tents and supplies. The practice was great at connecting the students to their group and making new friends by helping each other through the tricky trails with heavy packs.
On the first day, groups had DofE staff members walk the route with them to help them apply their navigation skills to the real thing. When they arrived, they set up their tents and unpacked their stuff at the camp site. And in the evening, the groups all cooked their own boiled meals on the trangers.
​ On the second day, some groups found themselves taking a few wrong turns, however all the groups successfully made their way to the collection points by remembering their training and thinking things through. Overall the practice was great fun and a fun learning experience to ensure that the groups all pass their Bronze DofE Award in June.
