SERC Students Complete Bronze and Silver Expedition

Students from SERC’s Downpatrick and Newtownards campuses recently completed their Silver or Bronze Expedition as part of their Duke of Edinburgh. The expedition was the first of its kind in Northern Ireland since lockdown measures were implemented.  

Michelle Hickland Deputy Head of School for Construction, Engineering Services and Skills for Work said, “A total of twenty students from our Downpatrick Campus  and twelve from our  Newtownards Campus Level 1 Skills for Life and Level 1 Skills for Work programmes, took part in the two-day expedition. 

“Those completing Bronze spent twelve hours on day one and seven hours on day two of their expeditions. While those completing the Silver practice spent twelve hours on both days. Their expedition locations included the Quoile River, Mound of Down, Murlough,  and the Granite Trail and Quarry on Donard in the Mourne Mountains.” 

Speaking about the tasks the students had to complete and the skills they were gaining Michelle said, “For the Bronze Award, the students had to walk a minimum of three hours per day, and for Silver a minimum of three and a half hours each day, navigating the route independently as a group. They had to cook their own meals, work as a team, and complete the aim of ‘Observing Everything’ which was tested by quizzes at the end of the day. The students also had to put up their tents as if they were camping overnight. All of which was completed whilst adhering to the ‘leave no trace’ and following the country code.”  

Michelle concluded, “The weather was particularly bad on the day of the expedition and the Silver practice group had to overcome unplanned challenges and obstacles including navigating their way around several small floods and fencing that had come down in the poor conditions.   They even had a chat with flood wardens to ensure their route was safe.”  

If you are interested in finding out more about SERC’s level 1 skills for work click here, for more information on level 1 skills for your life, click here.

Apply now for courses commencing September 2020. Visit www.serc.ac.uk to find out how you could be #BetterOffAtSERC