St Edward's, 150 Years

St Edward’s: 150 Years

Chapter 7 / Sport and Outdoors

Left and below: A Tony Snell kayaking trip.

the Silver expedition was formalised from the initial ad hoc arrangements on the Berkshire Downs (which were a very inefficient use of resources) so that all those doing Silver would have a Navigation Practice, a one-night full practice with the expedition carried out on Exmoor. At Gold the expedition was carried out, after a tough final two-night practice in the uninhabited area of Radnor Forest, at Easter continuing to use the CCF Arduous Training slot. For many years the expedition was mounted as a CCF exercise, attracting public funds for travel, rations and even an Army cook, but this ceased after contrary MOD advice! The base was at the old lead mine above Glenridding in the Lakes. Over the years expeditions were not confined to foot but expanded to cycling, canoeing, rowing on the Grand Union canal, even travel by mule in Spain, ‘in the course of which the group were fired on in the middle of the night by an irate peasant!’ ( Chronicle ). More recently canoeing has been re- invigorated under the impetus of Tony Snell. It’s interesting to trace the evolution over the years of the Volunteering Section. In the early years it was very much qualifications after a formal course: first aid, life saving, a police or fire course; nowadays it is almost all individuals involved in some sort of community service – a change perhaps reflecting a more caring society. In 2007 Jo Shindler took over from Richard Anderson on his retirement. She re-introduced Bronze, and, because of better weather, moved the Gold expedition to be in the summer holidays, rather than Easter. Some statistics: at a rather conservative estimate of seven Gold completions a year, to date about 350 Teddies pupils have achieved their Gold Award and many have been to Buckingham Palace or St James’s to receive their awards: not a bad record. Richard Anderson (formerly Master in Charge of DofE) with help from others, particularly Tony Snell

the expeditions, either from a farm at Dowthwaitehead in the Lakes or Capel Curig Training camp in Snowdonia. As part of his visit to Oxford in 1972, the Duke of Edinburgh watched DofE activities at Cheney School. Over 100 boys from Teddies took part and demonstrated: first aid, fencing, a wind ensemble, electronics, bell ringing, fly tying, ornithology, chess, art, brass-rubbing, canoe-building, motorcycle maintenance, judo and gymnastics. No wonder the Duke’s visit over-ran! In 1984 Richard Anderson arrived and was asked to take over from David Howorth. The Bronze Award had lapsed, so he concentrated on the Silver and Gold. In due course

The cloisters, with the DofE notice boards.

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) was started in 1956 by the Duke of Edinburgh under the influence of Kurt Hahn, his old Headmaster at Gordonstoun. Sir John Hunt (as he then was) of Everest fame was charged with designing the award and putting it into operation. It was he who instigated the three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold, and the four components (with their current nomenclature): Volunteering, Physical, Skill and Expedition, plus Residential at Gold. It’s a tribute to Hunt’s abilities that the award has remained largely unchanged since inception; it continues to be a highly flexible and deliverable structure for voluntary personal development, eminently attractive to young people and highly valued by employers. Currently some 275,000 are

involved across Britain; equivalents are also offered in many other countries (e.g. as the President’s Award). In 1961 as a result of one of the recurring examinations of the purpose of the CCF at Teddies, it was decided to introduce more Adventure Training into the syllabus, and the DofE was seen as a way to achieve this. It was originally offered in the RAF Section under Peter Corlett, but soon expanded, and Recruits Company was reorganised to cater for Bronze (as part of a compulsory CCF, which raised some eyebrows as the DofE is supposed to be a voluntary scheme!). Expeditions were run by Cameron Cochrane using the Easter CCF Arduous Training slot, while Peter Corlett concentrated on the administration. In time David Howorth took over the running of the award while Peter Mallalieu ran

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