The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
Netherton Village Hall
330a – 332 Meltham Road
Huddersfield
HD4 7EX
Tel:
01484 222374
Fax:
01484 222394
Email: denise.bedford@kirklees.gov.uk
Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Expedition Spring 2016
Achieving your Award is an adventure from beginning to end and the expedition section can give you some of your most
memorable experiences! There’ll need to be between four and seven of you in an expedition team. With your team,
you’ll plan an aim for your expedition, decide on your location and do lots of fun training to make sure you’re fully
prepared and know what you’re doing! A qualified supervisor will work with your team to organise all of this and help you
plan your expedition.
Once you’ve done the preparation the fun starts when you go out and do a practice and a qualifying expedition. Once
you’ve completed your final expedition you’ll give a presentation about your adventures and achievements. The whole
experience will give you laughs, arguments, joy and frustration along the way. But, by the end, you’ll have better team
and leadership skills, not to mention more confidence and lots of great memories!
Expedition Training – The training covers all aspects of the expedition, including equipment, camp craft, catering,
navigation, first aid, safety and route planning. This usually takes place at your open award centre.
Practice Expedition - Fully-supervised Practice Expedition over 3 days in an area providing similar conditions to your
Qualifying Expedition. The first day will be spent practicing navigation skills whilst out "in the field”, and also
supplementing the training delivered on the training sessions, the subsequent days will be under remote supervision to
allow you to develop your self-reliance, leadership and teamwork skills.
Friday 11 – Sunday 13 March – Peak District
Meet @ 8.30 Leeds Road Retail Park SCS Car Park Huddersfield HD1 6PF
Precheck for Qualifier – All Gold groups must undergo a precheck before their qualifying expedition to check that they
a properly equipped to complete the expedition. You will need to bring all your kit (excluding perishable food) to the DofE
Marina Project Little Deer Wood Shepley Bridge Marina Huddersfield Road Mirfield WF14 9HR on Wednesday 24
March 13:30 – 16:30.
Qualifying Expedition - Fully-supervised Qualifying Expedition assessed by our team of accredited assessors.
Qualifying Expeditions meet all the 20 conditions laid down in the DofE Handbook.
Monday 4 –Friday 8 April North Yorkshire Moors
Meet @ 7:30 Little Deer Wood Shepley Bridge Marina, Huddersfield Road Mirfield WF14 9HR
Expedition Presentation – Wednesday 20 April
Meet @ 13:30 Little Deer Wood Shepley Bridge Marina, Huddersfield Road Mirfield WF14 9HR
Participants will be dropped off at Little Deer Wood Shepley Bridge Marina following their expeditions at approx. 6.00pm.
We say approximately as this is dependent on many things eg what time the group starts walking, how fast they walk,
accurate navigation, what the traffic is like on the journey. So please be aware of this when arranging collection.
All our instructors have undergone enhanced CRB checks and, are fully qualified outdoor leaders and hold governing
body awards and current First Aid certificates. We are licensed by the Adventure Activities Licensing Service which is
part of the Health & Safety Executive.
The cost of the gold expedition package is £200 (this does not include campsite fees for the qualifying venture). To book
a place please complete and return the attached consent form and post to the above address together with a cheque for
£200 made payable to Kirklees Council by Friday 27 November. There is a facility for participants to pay this amount in
instalments, if you choose this method of payment please advise the office and secure your place with a non refundable
deposit of £50.
Yours Sincerely
Denise Bedford
Denise Bedford MBE
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Manager
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Spring Expedition Package
Please read the following information as it will help to prepare for your DofE expedition:
Individuals are responsible for providing all meals whilst on the practice & qualifying ventures - food &
nutrition will be covered during the training sessions so please inform whoever is purchasing this. The food
you bring must be suitable for a backpacking expedition so please have a look at the information on our web
site www.kirkleesdofe.org under the heading Expedition Information, Food Suggestions and choose
something that you like and bring it with you. Could you also provide a water bottle that can be filled with
squash and refilled several times as opposed to bringing lots of heavy drinks. You will need methylated
spirits for your camp stove but an adult will have to purchase this for you and we will loan you a special
safety bottle to carry this with you unless you prefer gas, if so we can loan you a special gas adapter but you
will need to purchase your own screw top camping gas.
Practice & Qualifying Expeditions
Day 1 - Lunch, Dinner and Supper. (squash and an extra few snacks for the weekend )
Day 2 - Breakfast, lunch, Dinner & Supper
Day 3. Breakfast, lunch, Dinner & Supper
Day 4, Breakfast, lunch
I have included an equipment list of personal items you will require please try and provide as much of this as
possible. Appropriate clothing to wear on an expedition will be covered in the training sessions. Some
equipment can be borrowed from Kirklees. This will be decided in your expedition training groups and
booked out with your DofE leader and will be delivered to your centre at the beginning of the week when you
are going on expedition. Have a look at this useful guide before going out and buying expedition gear
www.dofe.org/go/ekg/
Remember on an expedition you will be carrying everything that you bring so think minimalist.
You will also need your ID number and please make sure that you have entered all the information for your
expedition on your edofe account this will allow your assessor to complete the relevant details once you
have completed the expedition.
Suggested Kit List
Hat
Gloves
The ruck sack needs lining with a
Ruck Sack*
proper ruck sack liner or a robust
Drinks Bottle
quality rubble bag to ensure
Boots*
everything stays dry inside.
Walking Socks
Waterproof Coat*
Waterproof Pants*
Fleece (No hoodies)
Appropriate Clothing (No jeans & remember layering clothing is warmer)
Toiletries & small towel (Please keep these to a minimum)
Torch & Batteries
Tea Towel & Washing up liquid/pan scrub, matches
Food the right amount for your expedition
Knife Fork Spoon Plate
Sun Cream/ glasses
Sleeping Bag
Roll Mat*
Money for camp sites, phone, emergencies.
Any Medication
I D Number & update your e DofE account.
The loan of Items marked with a * and all group equipment will be organised by your expedition
leader. Please try and provide as much of this as you can especially walking boots.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Spring Gold Expedition Package
Age in yrs. & months
Full Name:
Date of Birth:
Home Address:
Post Code:
e-mail:
Participant’s Telephone: Home:
Participants Mobile:
Parents/Guardians (inc. phone/contact details):
Alternative Contact (Relative/Friend):
Special Dietary Requirements:
Medical information:
Known Medical Conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes, epilepsy etc.):
Medication being (or to be) taken:
Dosage:
Known Allergies/Dietary Needs:
Known Phobias or Problems (travel sickness, sleepwalking, dyslexia etc).
Doctor’s Name & Surgery Address:
Date of last tetanus injections:
(Complete below if participant under 18 years)
I have completed the details above and authorise my son/daughter to take part in the above project
We will take photographs of the participants whilst on expedition and upload these onto the DofE web site
www.kirkleesdofe.org Participants can access these and use them in their presentations.
Signed………………………………………………………………………… Date:
Please return the completed form together with a cheque payable to Kirklees Council