THREE leaders for the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award Scheme at Waseley Hills High School in Rubery are making an epic journey to walk all the way to the west coast of Wales in order to raise money for a bursary scheme at the school.

Assistant head teacher and Gold DofE leader Simon Green, former student and volunteer Silver DofE leader Hannah Lippett, and ICT manager and DofE coordinator Rick Solly, set out from the school at 9am on Friday, July 22, to a farewell send off from 800 students, in their bid to walk 107 miles cross-country on footpaths all the way to Clarach Bay, just north of Aberystwyth.

The award scheme involves taking part in an expedition or hike, as well as learning a new skill, volunteering, and practicing a physical activity.

Waseley Hills High usually has approximately 70-80 pupils working toward their silver awards, and a dozen working toward their gold each year, and the cost of taking part in the scheme can become prohibitive for some.

Rick Solly said: “Duke of Edinburgh is very important we feel in school. It gives the sort of kids that are not academic the chance to achieve. It’s especially important to them, and we feel it is necessary to raise additional funds to give all students the opportunity to participate regardless of their family finances. We strongly feel that DofE should be accessible to all and not an elitist activity."

The three have been in training for months for their walk, getting into shape by walking the 4 ½ miles to and from Bromsgrove every day, as well as walking at the weekends.

Rick added: “We’ve actually being doing our silver DofE expeditions, chasing the kids all over the Forest of Dean. I think we’re prepared, as much as you can be prepared for walking day after day for a week. We’re looking forward to it.”

The walk is planned to take seven days to complete, with the three planning to put their feet in the sea in Clarach by Thursday afternoon, and hopefully raise more than £2,000 for their bursary fund.

They already have £1,700 so far in donations, and they’re hoping to interest some local businesses in further supporting the bursary scheme once they get back.

If anyone would like to donate to the scheme, they can visit crowdfunding.justgiving.com/Waseley-2-Wales.

For more information on how to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, visit dofe.org/.