AT Gryphon

AT Gryphon This is The Gryphon School's Adventurous Training programme page.

The school runs Duke of Edinburgh's Awards, Ten Tors Challenge, Lowland Walk/Expedition Leadership Awards and supports the Rotary Young Leader's Awards.

Hello! It is the final day of the Gold DofE Expedition here in Wales, Mr. Banfield here to bring you one last update! Th...
27/07/2025

Hello! It is the final day of the Gold DofE Expedition here in Wales, Mr. Banfield here to bring you one last update!

The leaders woke to rain this morning at the bunkhouse, but fortunately, it didn’t last long, so just a bit of drizzle to start the day for everyone! Otherwise cloudy and cool for this final day.

All groups are slowly coming together as they all share the same finishing point. It’s really interesting to see how they’ve all been a part, separated by mountains all week, and now their routes are beginning to converge on the same tracks and hills, to finish in the same location.

Independence has been encouraged, as mentioned before, but we have been checking in and teams are doing well, making great progress. We’re aiming to have all groups finished and on the road for about 14:00. We’ll have a pit stop somewhere on the way home and that’s when we’ll get students to start contacting home with an ETA!

Ps. See if you can spot Team 1 in this photo.. it’s not a trick — this is an example of our remote supervision in action! 👌🏼

Good afternoon from Snowdonia! Day three of four, and Mr Banfield here to announce my retirement from weather reporting…...
26/07/2025

Good afternoon from Snowdonia! Day three of four, and Mr Banfield here to announce my retirement from weather reporting… that lovely weather and “bit of cloud” I mentioned yesterday? It turned into a fine mist, then light/medium showers for our students on their final Gold Expedition. We saw a lot of waterproofs!

Although yesterday had less elevation than the day before, I do think it may have been the most testing so far. Day two brought blisters, sore knees, achey shoulders and wet weather — but no complaints! I’m very impressed to say all groups were still in high spirits as they reached their campsites for their second night.

Day three has seen all teams head south on their individually planned routes, with sun, cloud and the teeniest bit of rain. All teams have been given a bit more independence, smashing out their routes with even less intervention from us today. With a combination of remote supervision (spotting them without them spotting us) and some use of the GPS trackers, we have noticed a few deviations from the planned routes here and there but they’ve all got the knowledge and skills to get themselves back on track and heading in the right direction.

We’re all really impressed with the efforts we’ve seen this week. Teams are just starting to rock up to their final campsites for the expedition! One more day of hiking to go, we’re thinking of setting them off around 07:00 to make sure we’re all in the right place at the right time
to be heading home to Sherborne tomorrow!

Good morning, Mr. Banfield here with another weather report from Snowdonia! We have been blessed with some clear weather...
25/07/2025

Good morning, Mr. Banfield here with another weather report from Snowdonia! We have been blessed with some clear weather yet again. Waking up at the bunkhouse (where all the staff/leaders are based) and stepping out to see peaks that aren’t obscured by cloud is quite a rarity up here - these kids really have lucked out with the weather! 16°C at the moment, and the highest it will reach is 20°C with a bit more cloud predicted today too.

All teams did brilliantly yesterday and were all still in super high spirits after descending the mountain. In my opinion, it is a mountain. There has been a light hearted debate between the students - what makes a mountain a mountain? What makes a hill, just a hill? When does a hill become a mountain? Feel free to weigh in on this!

Regardless, ticking off a peak (or a really really big hill) on day one is a heck of a way to start a final expedition and for the vast majority, this was the first mountain (or really big hill) they’ve ever summited!

See photo for Team 1’s route off Moelwyn Mawr, the apparent “big hill” in question in the background!

Last night saw teams stay in a mix of private campsites and wild camping spots. As of 09:00 today, all five groups have set off for the day. After yesterday’s monster ascent, most of today’s routes are relatively low in comparison. Some groups will see a bit of the Welsh coast in the distance, some groups have more gradual inclines, reaching around 400m elevation, skirting around the base of some bigger mountains.

We’re giving groups a bit more autonomy today, they all have GPS trackers that keep us updated with their whereabouts and we’re meeting them around about twice a day today for brief check ins. As always, they also have emergency phones and contact details, should they need to reach us (and an SOS function on the GPS trackers). We’re aiming to check in on groups as they reach their campsites tonight too and then leave them be, to meet them tomorrow and do it all over again!

Good morning from Snowdonia! Mr Banfield here with an update on the Gold DofE Final Expedition! We have clear blue skies...
24/07/2025

Good morning from Snowdonia! Mr Banfield here with an update on the Gold DofE Final Expedition! We have clear blue skies, a few clouds here and there and it is a delightfully cool 16°C in Wales today - it will only get cooler, the higher these students hike! A lovely change from the heatwaves the practice weekend brought!

Yesterday! After a long old drive (and a brief pit stop to visit Ronald McDonald) we arrived at our destination at around 15:30. Staff/leaders got settled into the bunkhouse, students pitched their tents in the grounds and then we put on a BBQ for all the staff and students to make sure everyone was fed ahead of the week!

We woke the students at 06:30 this morning, fed everyone with a bacon and sausage roll breakfast by 07:30 and as of 09:00 all teams are now on their various routes that will see them summit Moelwyn Mawr (770m above sea level) before descending to their individually booked campsites.

We have several leaders up on Moelwyn Mawr in position to greet teams as they summit. These leaders are there to offer a congratulatory crisp high five at the epic ascent, but also there to check in on the safety and wellbeing of the group as well as make sure they take the correct paths for their descent!

Good afternoon from the final day of Gold DofE Practice Expedition, Mr Banfield here again! All five teams are doing rea...
13/07/2025

Good afternoon from the final day of Gold DofE Practice Expedition, Mr Banfield here again! All five teams are doing really really well! They have now all spent one night wild camping and one night camping in the grounds of the staff/leader bunkhouse, where us adults have been based. The wild camp spot was at Llech-Llia in the shadow of Fan Nedd (see photo of the setting sun over Team 2). The bunkhouse was Tyle Morgrug Cottage and Bunkhouse.

Yesterday saw the hottest day of the year for Wales, with temperatures hitting 31°C. What perfect weather to hike up some mountains with giant packs on backs! To counter this intense heat we made sure teams were taking breaks in the shade with plenty of water and leaders did permit some paddling in rivers to cool off too.

Today the weather is much cooler, sitting at around 24°C and there is a lovely breeze through The Brecon Beacons. All teams are now past the half way points of their routes and we are aiming to be finishing for around 14:30 so that we can get on the road back to Sherborne …with a heavily requested pit stop at a service station on the way home. For students being picked up, we’ll ask them to make contact with home once we’re on the road and have an estimated time of arrival!

Good morning from the Brecon Beacons! Mr. Banfield here, just checking in to let you all know we have arrived safely in ...
11/07/2025

Good morning from the Brecon Beacons! Mr. Banfield here, just checking in to let you all know we have arrived safely in Wales to clear blue skies and 24°C. All groups have set off on their individually planned and approved routes — they’re all starting with a leader and once we’re confident in the ability to continue as a solo group (around midday) we’ll let them continue on their own, meeting them at checkpoints throughout the rest of the day.

I know many parents/carers/teachers have raised concerns about the heat this weekend, but I just wanted to take a moment to make sure you know your child’s safety is our number one priority. We are making sure students stay on top of suncream, are taking shaded breaks and drinking plenty of water. We have a total of 6 vehicles here with us (3 minibuses and 3 leader cars) and each vehicle has plenty of water in a Jerry can (or two!), ready to meet groups and keep them topped up throughout the weekend. We’ve advised groups take longer breaks when the heat is at its highest (around 3pm/4pm today). We are also prepared to shorten routes if the temperatures continue to soar, or students really begin to suffer or as a very last resort, abandon routes altogether if needed — after all, we do want this to be a positive experience! ☀️⛰️🌲

Gold 2025 - Progress ReportThis is a mixture of good and bad, lot's of you are frequently uploading every month... Some ...
08/07/2025

Gold 2025 - Progress Report

This is a mixture of good and bad, lot's of you are frequently uploading every month... Some need to chase their assessors... Others haven't uploaded in months...

Please can we get uploading evidence before your final expedition!

Silver 2025 - Progress UpdateLot's of forms due in, now you have done your Final Expedition, uploading evidence should b...
08/07/2025

Silver 2025 - Progress Update

Lot's of forms due in, now you have done your Final Expedition, uploading evidence should be your top priority!

Bronze 2025 - Progress UpdateIt has been a few weeks since my last progress update and not much evidence has been upload...
08/07/2025

Bronze 2025 - Progress Update

It has been a few weeks since my last progress update and not much evidence has been uploaded. If you would like to complete your award before the next school year please get uploading soon!

Well done for those of you complete, you are all done and will receive your certificates at the awards evening when you're back after the summer.

16/06/2025

AT meetings this week are:

Tuesday 17 June 2025
• Gold 2025 (Yr 12) – No meeting

Wednesday 18 June 2025
• Lowland Expedition Leaders - P5 in H&SC IT room.

Thursday 19 June 2025
• Silver 2025 (Yr10) - No Meeting

Friday 20 June 2025
• Silver Practice expedition - Meet at 0730hrs

Address

The Gryphon School
Sherborne
DT94EQ

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when AT Gryphon posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category