Lingfield Students Complete Gold DofE Qualifying Expedition in Scottish Highlands

Year 12 student, Charlie, gives an insight into the final expedition.

In the May half-term, 16 of us set off on our Gold Duke of Edinburgh Qualifying Expedition. We flew up to Scotland and hiked for four days, wild camping for most nights. Prior to the expedition, we spent many hours route planning and working on logistics, mainly because we had to make our own way up to Scotland, without any parents or teachers, via plane alongside countless buses and trains. Through great teamwork, we all safely arrived at our campsite in one piece and then all successfully completed the expedition.

I found that DofE was an amazing experience with some breathtaking views, funny moments and a great opportunity to improve on so many skills. However, I won't lie - it was a challenge with some awful weather and conditions! It was exhausting, but please don't let that put you off it, because you won't regret it once you have done it, and you would only regret not doing it. It was a brilliant experience which I am very proud of and can look back on for my whole life.

Overall we did 105,413 steps, 65km and burnt over 3500 calories.

The Expeditions are just one part of the Duke of Edinburgh programme. Between 1st April 2024 and 31 March 2025, Lingfield students notched up a total of 1924 volunteering hours. Find out more.