in group tents – like those group arrangements during their time at Boyle River Lodge. Many boys will now know what to take in their packs and what to leave behind. Cooking skills will be improved too. The lesson of “cotton is rotten” was hammered home to many in the rain on that first week. YEAR 10 ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY Year 10 Outdoor Education is well integrated into the Immerse & Inspire programme. Boys who have come through the Year 9 camps are better prepared for the challenging week the following year. This year, the programme was again disrupted by Covid-19 and the flu, prompting changes for each of the four groups in their week away. However, all boys willing to obtain their Bronze Adventurous Journey were given the opportunity to do so. Thank you to the Boyle River Outdoor Education Centre for ensuring that the trips could be held. The centre went above and beyond to make it happen. The boys who went to the Boyle River Outdoor Education Centre did so as part of the four-week Immerse & Inspire programme. All Year 10 boys are given the opportunity to be registered in the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award. By completing the week at Boyle River, the boys could achieve their Adventurous Journey section of the Hillary Award. The format included two nights in the Boyle River area, learning the camping and tramping skills needed to plan and participate in their own tramping trip. On Wednesday, they were back at base camp to participate in a variety of group-based activities, including high and low-rope challenges and a range of night activities. On Thursday, they were set an area in Lewis Pass so they could plan their group tramp to complete the Adventurous Journey section of the Hillary Award. This involved an overnight tramp to a campsite, and, on Friday returning to Boyle River Lodge to travel back to College. It was a demanding week for many
boys, which is the goal of the Hillary Award – to immerse and challenge the boys in the environment and develop their spirit of adventure and discovery. The next goal is for the boys to take this outdoor tramping experience to the next level by heading out on more trips into the wilderness. Boys on this week will also qualify for the Black and White level in the Discovery and Challenge section of the College Diploma. If the boys complete their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award, then this will give them the Silver level of both the Service and Discovery sections of the College Diploma. In 2022, we had more boys complete their Silver and Gold Award Adventurous Journey for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award via Boyle River, Spirit of Adventure, Outward Bound, Peel Forest, or provider Bushworks. Another option that is growing in popularity this year is achieving these levels via the College Venture Group run by Tom Hawkins. We have again run two College Silver and Gold Adventurous Journeys this year. WEEK-LONG JOURNEY A significant addition to our Outdoor programme was the trip to Boyle River in the September holidays. We arranged a Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award training day, and the completion of both Adventurous Journeys in one trip. The training day was held a week prior to the Adventurous Journey, held from 26 September–2 October. The boys left Lewis Pass via Ada
Pass and, after crossing the Waiau River, experienced the majesty of Lake Guyon. They then tramped through the third and final pass, Fowlers Pass. There, they collected their mountain bikes and completed the second part of the programme, cycling along sections of the St James Cycle Trail. In the mountain- biking section, they visited natural hot springs and their journey finished in Hanmer Springs, with a dip in the thermal pools. In all, 35 boys completed this journey, plus another 13 boys completed a four- day Silver/Gold trip that same week. As a result, the Years 10–11 boys completed their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award and their Gold level of Service and Discovery in the College Diploma. We see this new initiative continuing and again thank Boyle River for structuring this programme. I am pleased with the progress in more boys heading out into the wilderness and learning to challenge themselves through the outdoors. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award is making significant progress, as can be seen in the table below. Our Outdoor Education programme supports more boys to complete the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award. Thanks to the success of our pilot programme in 2020, in Term 4 2021, all Year 9 Boys were invited to join the Bronze Award. If they complete their Bronze Award, they will be refunded their award enrolment fee. By beginning their Bronze Award in Year 9, they will then have plenty of chances to complete their Silver
DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S HILLARY AWARD
Gold (since left)
Total completed
Bronze Silver
Gold
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total
1
1
18 47 34 58
1
19 51 49 83
4
12 19 14 49
3 6 8
101 259
2 2
125 328
18
183
Register 2022 Culture
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