Plucky Roddensvale pupils go for gold

The pupils walked 42 miles along the Great Glen Way, starting at Fort William.

All six endured the hot conditions with most ending up with very sore feet from blisters and insect bites.

The pupils showed fantastic skills by putting up their own tents, cooking their own food on trangia stoves and navigating along the route.

The expedition was challenging but great fun too, and pupils gained a great deal in the way of independence and confidence.

The assessors were very impressed with the physical fitness, camp craft skills and personal attitude of all the young people involved.

The group consisted of four pupils as well as two past pupils of the school who are from the Larne and Carrickfergus areas.

Roddensvale has worked in conjunction with the Belfast Activity Centre for the past seven years, but this is only the second time pupils have reached the gold standard.

A spokesperson for Roddensvale said: “Everyone involved has worked really hard on the various sections of the award and have been involved in activities such as football, horse riding, choir and working in charity shops.

“The school are extremely proud of all the hard work and dedication shown by the group and of the success they have achieved in completing the expedition.”

The Duke of Edinburgh Award – a registered charity – is the world’s leading achievement award for young people.

Those undertaking their DofE gold programme must complete five different types of activity to achieve the prestigious award: volunteering, physicla, skills, expedition and residential.