KES Teams Rise to the Ten Tors Challenge

“There may be many challenging outdoor events in Britain today, but Ten Tors stands alone in its scale, its ambition and the fact that it is aimed solely at young people. Completing the Challenge is not easy with the terrain, distances and often the climate all conspiring against success. All those who attempt Ten Tors will undoubtedly remember it for the rest of their lives and for many it will be a life-changing experience.”

With the words of the British Army Ten Tors organisers to mind, two KES teams set off early on a cold April morning to start their Ten Tors adventure in this year’s event.  Ahead lay their respective 35 and 45-mile routes. 

King Edward’s has a long history of participating in the Ten Tors Challenge, broken only by COVID in recent years.  Amongst the two teams there was a determination to do previous school participants proud.

Prior to the Challenge both teams underwent three rigorous training weekends in the Brecon Beacons, Exmoor and Dartmoor, honing their navigation and mountains skills in the company of a highly experienced KES staff team. A particularly wet Spring ensured that most weekends saw difficult conditions, with the teams facing very wet camping, heavier rucksacks due to the rain, and more arduous terrain underfoot.
For the Ten Tors Challenge weekend itself, the weather continued to be challenging, with low cloud and rain causing poor visibility on the moor.  However, fuelled by a hearty breakfast made by a camp team comprising Miss Perris, Miss Dawes and Mr Perry, spirits were high as the starting time drew close.

Colonel Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, saw them off: “The moment has now finally arrived, to test yourselves through the difficult and arduous two days that lie ahead. Remember that when you do extraordinary challenges like this, you learn things about yourself, and your teammates, that simply cannot be learned though ‘normal’ or everyday activities.” 

Our two teams take up the account of their Ten Tors journey.

On the road with the Year 10, 35-mile team

On the 27th-29th of April, six of us completed the 35-mile Ten Tors route in Dartmoor. The training weekends were tough but completely worth it, as they prepared us well for the challenges of the real event, such as micro-navigating through fog on the moor, and getting our own water from streams along the way. They also made us stronger as a team. Friday night was exciting as we got to meet people that were in the challenge with us, and we all had fun singing along to the live music. Sharing one big tent with each other made us form closer bonds before our event the following day. The Ten Tors weekend was a challenge that pushed our capabilities both individually and as a team. We worked together to reach the end and were successful. We saw wonderful views in the sunny weather, however, the fog on Sunday morning got us lost and delayed our finish. Stepping across the finish line gave us a sense of accomplishment and it was difficult to not smile on the podium whilst receiving our medals. We all look forward to hopefully doing the 45 and 55 mile route in later years.

The team comprised: Ulrika Avent, Imogen Luker, Aidan O’Mahony (Second Team Leader), Rowan Peregrine-Jones, Beth Ritchie and Amelie Rushforth (Team Leader)

The 45-mile team review – by Gabriel Fallon

There were three training weekends to prepare for the event, as well as decide who would make the team. The first weekend was in the Brecon Beacons where we were walking without bags and staying in a youth hostel. The second weekend was in Exmoor where we walked with bags and camped at a campsite. On the third weekend we wild camped and walked with bags in Dartmoor - where the event took place the following weekend. The most important part of the training for me was improving my map reading and navigational skills as this would be crucial for the event.

For the event, we went to Okehampton army camp early on Friday morning. There were tents and talks set up by different branches of the military. We then stayed the night at the camp before waking up at 5am in order to down some porridge and hurry to the start line for 6am. The event started at 7am and we proceeded to walk 63km until 9pm then set up camp and heated up some MRE’s nearby to our 8th Tor. On Sunday, we passed our 8th Tor at 7am and then hobbled past our remaining tors and made it to the finish line. It was a really enjoyable experience and we would recommend it to anyone thinking about participating.

The team comprised: Fergus Bell (Second Team Leader), Gabriel Fallon (Team Leader), Zac Gentle, Callum Hourston, Frankie Samways and Toby Swale.

Many thanks to all the staff (see below) involved in training and the expedition, led by Mrs Fuller the Team Manager.  Their support and skills given generously over many weekends meant the KES teams were very well-prepared for the challenge. 

Mr Laney, Mr Mawer, Mr Fuller, Mr Ford, Mr Lang, Mrs Lang, Mr Pagnamenta, Miss Gates, Miss Perris, Miss Dawes, Mr Perry.