The Duke of Edinburgh Assessed Expedition 2025 was a resounding success — if your definition of success includes a bit of rain, a lot of mud, and discovering just how not waterproof some "waterproof" jackets really are.

Our brilliant students rose to the challenge with smiles (and occasionally soggy socks). Many of them even admitted — quietly, and only once their phones were safely back in their hands — that they quite enjoyed spending time with each other offline.

Lessons were learnt: tents are not soundproof, sleep is not optional, and snacks are social currency. As always, it was a joy to see our young people thriving outside the classroom, working together, and embracing the wild (well... as wild as the British countryside allows).

We’re incredibly proud of their resilience, teamwork, and ability to function without Wi-Fi mostly.