CIS truly offers 21 st Century learning experience to their students which ensures that the students become successful learners who enjoy learning and a balanced life.
The International Award For Young People is one of the diverse programmes which CIS presents, to further equip the students with the ability to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives.
The International Award For Young People Award is the world’s leading youth achievement award in which individuals between age 14 and 24 enroll to build confidence, resilience, skills for work as well as social skills. These are attained through activities such as volunteering, expeditions, residential programmes, etc.
Upon the successful completion of any of the International Award For Young People programmes, a first-time participant will be bestowed with the Bronze Award. The other award categories are Silver and Gold earned respectively.
At the end of June 2017, eligible students of CIS set off to the United Kingdom for an unforgettable experience of the International Award For Young People expedition. There is more, the students passed the expedition test! This was confirmed by the International Award For Young People Award Assessor assigned to the team. They have a few more tasks to carry out after which they will receive their Bronze Awards individually. We wish them the very best of luck as they work towards it.
Below are articles from the students and Award Coordinator and, pictures from the adventure.
Day 1
From the Coordinator:
Day 1 of the Bronze expedition has come and gone.
We arrived into Manchester Airport with no hitches. Shopping for clothes (boots, sleeping bags,
etc.) was a bit tedious but imperative. Lunch at Tesco was a welcome break. Grocery shopping
in Tesco was also something the students enjoyed. Upon arrival at Boarfold, the students
unpacked their luggage, pitched their tents and set upon preparing tomorrow’s lunch packs
before making their dinner. It was a long day but they are all resting. Tomorrow will be the first
training day.
Day 2
From Anvita Y9:
Today was very exciting but really cold. I find it really new and rather different to stay in a tent
and cook my food because I am used to having everything done for me. It is a new routine for
me and I really look forward to seeing how this trip changes me. So far it has really been fun!
Today, we started walking at 9am. The walk wasn’t really long however, we kept getting lost
because we did not read the map well. Today, I learnt how to use a map to find my way
around.
(Students enjoyed a campfire before bed).
Day 3
From Anshuman Y10:
Today was incredibly tiring, but not without a familiar view. I took the same route as I did
yesterday but it was relatively new to others in the group. It was fun, but not so much when
the wind turned against us and the rain started falling. It was tough to track uphill but we
continued. The most stressful part though, was unpacking, sorting and repacking the rucksacks.
Running around and going outdoors to buy any missing equipment was fun as well. We are
ready for the practice expedition tomorrow.
Day 4
From Allison Y9 (Day 1 of Practice Expedition):
Going up the hill, it was a bit hard and the rain and the wind didn’t help the situation. As we
went up higher it became easier as we were getting accustomed to the conditions. We didn’t
have to navigate too much as it was straightforward. As we started going down the hill it got
warmer and we became agitated. We started arguing about breaks; people were getting tired.
Some wanted to have 30 minute breaks and some wanted short ones. People wanted to get to
the camp early. There wasn’t any agreement but the people with the maps started moving
forward and we all had to follow. When we got down the hill it took us long to get to the
campsite as we got lost and had to turn back. Every time we made a mistake we were turning
back to a point which was familiar. We took one last 15 minute break by a school before we got
to the campsite. The timekeeper got fed up because we were all arguing and did not keep the
time and we took longer than we were supposed to. Overall it was all fun and we got to the
camp and pitched our tents. It was great that there were other groups doing their International
Award For Young People and pitching tents as well. Some were rude but most of them were very
nice.
Our dinner preparations were complicated. We ate well but did not bring enough curry for the
rice. We all took care of each other and everyone did a lot of work but Jade was just amazing.
She made sure we were all okay and we just later asked her to go to bed early so she could
rest.
From the Award Coordinator:
The day started off wet and windy and finished off wet. The wettest day of the trip so far, so it
was not easy for the students at all as they were setting off but I am proud to say all of them
did very well. They managed to finish the first leg of their practice expedition well and an hour
ahead of schedule (since it was practice and the conditions were not so great, we adjusted their
route slightly). When they finished, they were tired, wet and feeling miserable. An hour later,
they were cheerful and looking forward to Thursday’s return journey. Our students saw many
other groups also doing their International Award For Young People expeditions. This gave them a
sense of purpose, pride and belonging.
Day 5
From Sai Y8 (Day 2 of Practice Expedition):
Today started off on a really bad note because we were late for our trek. We were supposed to
wake up early and take down our tents but we were slow and we were cold and didn’t know
what we were doing. We skipped breakfast and had just energy bars and some glucose and
flapjacks. After all that, we were trying to find our way to the mountains and if Mr. Ebere and
Mr. Aidan (Mr. French’s son) were not there to help us as we were going round and round in a
farm with cattle and sheep, we would have been stuck for hours. We were very bad at map
appreciation ….oh so bad at map reading… We decided to let Jade take a rest as she had
done it the day before and that was a big mistake….Jade has been amazing. She has been our
Obama, our Mandela, our Mahatma and our Malala and all else.
After all the discussions, we got to the top of the mountains and it was fun touching the clouds
(until I learnt it was fog). I was really excited about going higher and higher until I started
feeling my legs giving way. Some of our group members were walking so far ahead of others
and it made me feel so alone and left out but Allison was with me but still a little ahead of me.
It was not so bad anyway. After all our struggles, our conversations, our complications and
arguments we finally made it to the point where we got to the car park (where the supervisors
were waiting for us). One thing I learnt today was how team work is very important. We need
to be more patient as a team and we need to cooperate more with our teammates and work
with each other. We should be better organised.
Day 6
From Conor Y10 (Rest Day):
We had a lie in today which was good. We had breakfast and then had our clothes arranged to
take to the laundromat. We all went into the mini bus, dropped the clothes and went to Tescos
to get food for the expedition. Some of the students went to buy some extra stuff they needed
(last minute equipment).
I was one of those who forgot to buy ham for the group. We got back into the mini bus,
collected our shopping and headed back to camp. We took down the tents first before Mr.
French fell asleep. I think he was getting tired of marshalling us and waking up at 6 am every
morning. So you can imagine how tired I would be too! I think Jade and Anshuman got their
rucksacks ready for tomorrow and the rest of us just loafed around. Then we got ready to go
out for dinner that Mr. French and Mr. Bhila kindly treated us to. We dined at a Nepalese
restaurant. The dinner was lovely, the service was very quick and there was plenty of food.
Mixed starters and plenty of meats. But no dessert. Ankit tricked some people into eating raw
chillies and they all had teary eyes and needed water. We came back to base. Everyone else
packed their rucksacks and we checked our route for tomorrow and discussed it as a group.
Day 7
From Jade Y10 (Day 1 of Actual Expedition):
In the morning, we got ready quickly and met the assessor when he came to brief us. We were
happy and excited because it was warm and it was sunnier than on the practice walk. That got
us into a good mood. We left early from the base camp and we set off navigating in turns (in
pairs). Everyone got a chance to navigate. After about 30min we realised that we were going
the wrong way because we were following the route for the second day instead of the first.
After that, we turned around and went back onto the right route and we walked on…we
followed the chart that Allison made so that we can all buddy up as we were walking. It made
it better because it kept everyone at a steady pace. We met the supervisors at the Etheric
Country Park slight late. We had a break and continued. We went into Marple but we could not
find the canal we were supposed to follow and we decided to take a road. That was not the
right route to take and it was more difficult to find the way and people became restless and
started complaining. We were a bit worried we were lost, but eventually we found Strines Road
and took a minor road that led us to some open countryside that was uphill. We went through
the hills till we passed the golf course and finally reached Linnet Clough (15 minutes late) the
campsite we were going to stay for the night. We met the assessor and we pitched our tents.
Some pitched tents while others cooked dinner. We did this quite quickly. After dinner most
people had showers. People were a bit cranky and tired. They were feeling that we were not
working together closely as a group but we were still happy that we made it. We walked past a
lot of old villages/town with buildings dating back to the 1800s, which was very nice.
From the Award Coordinator:
The weather was very kind to the students on their DAY 1 of the ACTUAL Expedition. It was
a sunny and bright day.
They left camp 10 minutes before 9am but got lost immediately. They lost about 50 minutes
trying to get onto the right track. They recovered to make it to the lunchtime rendezvous point
only 15 minutes behind schedule. After lunch, we saw them safely off the little village we were
in and off they went. They missed the next rendezvous point (they took a different route), but
made it to camp only 10 minutes later than they had scheduled. They did remarkably well and
tomorrow they will set off at 9am once again back to base. The assessor met with them in the
morning and also briefly with them at the campsite. He will meet with them tomorrow for the
final decision.
Day 8
From Dafni Y10 (Day 2 of Actual Expedition):
We woke up at 6am (Sai and Conor woke us up) and some people started cooking breakfast
while others took down the tents. Those who did not do either washed the dishes afterwards.
So we worked as a team this morning. We got ready but me and two others went to the
bathroom and delayed the whole group. We ended up setting off 30min late. The supervisors
helped show us the way out of the campsite onto the right path. Weather was great
today. After about 15 min of walking Jade felt a bit unwell, a supervisor came and helped Jade
with some medication. In the end the group decided to share the stuff in her rucksack among
the other team members. We proceeded to the vicarage where we met other supervisors. We
spent some time arguing about which way to go. Soon after that we got lost again and Mr.
French guided us through a field with lots of cows. We were still sharing the navigating role.
After about an hour walking, we got to a farm with dogs; they seemed threatening but the dogs
ended up running away. We got lost again. We realised we were not listening to each other
because two people had seen the path we were looking for but no one had paid attention to
them.
Finally, we met up with the supervisors, had more water and set off again. We once again
missed the small path….. (we were not always observant). From then on we knew the way and
we were fine but we were moving very slowly. Before we got to Coombes Edge we stopped for
some time to figure out which path to take. We asked some people who confirmed we were on
the right path. When we got to Coombes Edge, we saw the assessor who called us over and
told us that we had done well. We had walked well, more than the required amount of
hours, shown the necessary skills and that we had ALL passed our expedition. We were all
happy as we were picked up by our supervisors. We got to camp and cleaned our boots (well
some of us). We also measured our mass (weight) – most of us have lost a bit. We rested a bit
and then went for a barbeque. The barbeque was fun; the food was delicious, there was a lot
of music. Ankit and the teachers put a lot of effort into it. We said good bye to Aiden which was
sad.
On the whole, am so happy that we are done and we passed. Most of us have called our
parents and they are proud of us…unbelievably they want us to go for Silver too!
When I came here I could not read a map, as of today I was one of the best navigators. I feel
proud of myself.
Day 9
From the Award Coordinator:
Today was pretty much just shopping for most of the students. While most of them shopped,
some others left to be with their parents and relatives.
After 6 hours of shopping in Stockport, we all had dinner and retired to bed in a hotel in
Stockport.
Day 10
From the Award Coordinator:
The journey back…
This morning, we said good bye to Mr. French who kindly dropped us off at the airport. We
checked in and headed back to Nigeria.
