Written by Mr. Ethan Earl Perkins
Our high school students recently steeled themselves for an end-of-semester adventure without comparison: The Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE). The prestigious ‘silver’ programme in which they participated consists of developing four principal skillsets: training and completing an expedition, planning, the development of a new skill and becoming physically fitter. The DofE awards that these students will achieve are going to serve as highly desirable qualifications when applying to universities and jobs in the future.
On day one, our high school students alighted on Changxing island and immediately set out for the campsite with full backpacks. Upon arrival, each of the six groups selected an area to set up tents before testing their outdoor culinary skills by cooking dinner with specially prepared ingredients. Day two was even tougher as the route was longer, not to mention the wind and rain hounding our young trekkers! On the final day, groups were greeted at the endpoint with well-deserved pizza and a rest for exhausted legs. All said, each student traversed a total of 65 kilometres within three days!
As an accompanying teacher who fully participated in the physical activities on all three days, I can attest to the willpower required from each student to finish the silver award. All students exemplified the mental and physical strength that is expected of high students of this calibre. This experience was undoubtedly gruelling for them; there were complaints (‘I want a shower!’), restless nights, leaky tents, aching feet and backs, burning sun followed by relentless rain. Most importantly, there were tears, not only of frustration, but also disbelief – a discovery that they were capable of more than they imagined. We should all be proud of our students for overcoming the obstacles during this trip, but crucially, the students should be proud of themselves for taking another step towards maturity.
Sophia Xiao:
After two days of training, I picked up the compass and maps that I thought I would not use if I had a mobile phone. I’ve never thought about finding a route without GPS or other people’s help. When I was in the supermarket for buying ingredients, I no longer chose snacks as I wanted, and considered the necessity and portability.
To be honest, it’s tiring to hike. I decided not to regard reaching the destination as a task anymore. I tried to let myself enjoy the process and the environment, and regarded the task as a trip.
So I focused more on the flowers and trees on the road, and the lovely vegetables and fruits on the fence. In this way, I made friends with the instructor, chatting and joking all the way, and the hiking seemed no longer tough.What impressed me the most was the seaside. It was cool. The sun was covered by clouds and occasionally it rained. It was easy to hike 25km in the sea breeze.
Finally, we had to say goodbye to our new friends. I don’t know whether I have a chance to see them again. Who would have thought of the moment when I was looking forward to going home on the first day. Looking back, I am always grateful that I have participated in this journey.
Joy Gu：
It’s exhausting to walk six or seven hours in one day, but I also got the company and encouragement from my friends. Every night when we returned to the camp, we also needed to set up tents and cook. I had the idea of giving up several times, but in the end I persisted. What supported me was not only the determination to win the prize, but also the encouragement from my friends.
Jack Wang：
Hiking for three days and two nights made me more persevering and improved my adaptability to different environments. It was a big challenge to travel more than ten kilometers with weight every day. After arriving at the camp, we also needed to cook and set up tents by ourselves. I benefited a lot from this event and learned many new skills.
Lily Zhou：
After a day of hiking, we returned to the camp and set up a tent, and we started to light a fire and cook. After a tiring day, it was a kind of happiness to be able to eat the delicious made by ourselves!
Karis Xu：
It was very hard for us to finish the three days’ hiking. Although we had received two days of training in school in advance, there were still a lot of problems on the first day of hiking. What impressed me was the mutual help among the team members. And it was team spirit that encouraged me to persevere!
Helen Hong：
I thought I was not good at telling direction and doing hand-made. But during the journey I learned how to use the compass, understand the map, and set up a tent. More importantly, I realized the importance of teamwork!