On Monday 18th July 2022 16 cadets and 4 Adult Volunteers from the Pioneer CCF Company travelled from Stoke Poges (South Bucks) to Aberdovey in North Wales to complete a 5-day residential Adventure Training Course with the Outward-Bound Trust.
This exercise could not have taken place without the financial support of our sponsors – The Ulysses Trust and for this we are extremely grateful.
Mon 18 July: The cadets engaged in multiple challenging activities which stretched them out of their comfort zones. This included swimming in the sea, jumping off a high jetty into the sea and preparations for a 2-day wild camping expedition. The bespoke programme was designed to build resilience, teamwork and autonomy in planning.
Tue & Wed 19-20 July: The highlight during the period of extreme heat saw the two sections of cadets inserted into a different location in the mountains at 1500 hrs with a mission. The challenge was to climb the forested hills and reach a wild basecamp below a mountain simply marked on the map as 666 (feet above sea level). The following morning saw the cadets waking up, having faced the fury of the midges, on the mist-covered mountain side and scaling the steep mountain, subsequently named “Devil Mountain”. At the summit the cadets had to signal their allied section, on another mountain top, at 1100 hrs using their flags ( The Ulysses Trust and the Outward-Bound Trust flags). Following this there followed an arduous march to rendezvous with the other section at 1500 at a pre-arranged location.
Having returned from their expedition the cadets and volunteers went to the sand dunes running up and down the steep dunes until sunset.
Thu 21 July: The cadets completed a 6 km expedition on the estuary in 2-man canoes and in the evening made a campfire on the beach where each cadet presented a colleague with their Outward-Bound Certificate providing meaningful feedback on each other’s achievements over the course of the week. Seeing the cadets providing such meaningful feedback on each other, so elegantly was awe-inspiring.
Fri 22 July before departing Wales for home all cadets used teamwork to climb an 8-foot wall – this was impressive.
On reflection I am so impressed with the work carried out by the outward-Bound Trust. Their planning, infrastructure, structured activities, safety measures, quality of food and outstanding instructors created such a valuable opportunity for the 16 cadets to grow and learn about themselves building resilience, teamwork, self-confidence and self-reliance.
To say the week was a powerful stimulus for personal development would be a huge under-statement. We were joined by a researcher from the University of Edinburgh, embedded in our unit and programme for the entire week, completing a study commissioned by the Outward-Bound Trust to determine the impact of mobile phones and social media on outdoor education. The feedback from Dr Jack Reed about our cadets was nothing short of incredible. His comments in summary suggested that the synergy between the CCF syllabus and the Outward-Bound programme complemented each other perfectly and of all the groups he had been engaged with over the 3-year study none demonstrated capability, grit and determination as much as our cadets. They could live without their mobile phones and addiction to social media – they wanted to live in the moment and savour all that the programme offered them.
The feedback from the Outward-Bound Trust on the performance of our cadets was equally inspiring.
Usually only 1-2 participants on Outward-Bound courses from 2 to 3 large groups receive a stamped recommendation on their certificates, inviting them to join Outward-Bound on a 7-day, 14 day or 19-day expedition at significantly reduced rates.
Both instructors agreed that our group of cadets were the best young people they had worked with in their years of experience in all respects. When this represents 20 years of combined experience in outdoor education this really is no small compliment.
The entire group, all 16 cadets, received this recommendation for further, future training which they can accept at any time during the summer until they are 22 years old.
We have received permission from the Outward-Bound Trust to adopt their expired motto for our CCF Company.
“To serve, to strive and not to yield”.
A Quote from one of our Cadets (Cdt L Cpl Nicola Chumber Y12):
- I climbed the Tarrenhendre mountain
- I jumped of the jetty
- I went on a speed boat and jumped of it
- I saw a waterfall and went in a cave
- I did canoeing and kayaking
- I went up the challenge wall
- I participated in every activity
- I tried new things I’ve never done before
I have learnt not to be afraid of trying new things and to challenge myself further. I went out of my comfort zone and did things that I thought I would never do such as jumping in the water. I can’t swim but still challenged myself and took my chance to complete every single opportunity that has been given to me.
I have gained skills such as self commitment, confidence, willingness to try new things, taking risks, taking on different challenges and greater responsibility.
