On Wednesday 13th February Northbourne children took part in the annual Midnight Walk between the school and Dover Harbour, 17 miles away. The 10 house captains met at base camp at 9.00 pm where Mr Papougnot, the Deputy Head and leader of the expedition, put up the tents and lit a huge open fire. Nick and Rowan, Rory, Eduardo,Marc, Pippa, Alice, Enrique, Adriana andMia then had a rest in the tents before starting the walk at midnight, precisely.
The party was supervised by 8 adults(Richard, Rico, Scott, the 3 gap year students and Mrs Tozer) (wearing fluorescent jackets and head torches!) who had the challenge of walking miles in the mud andsupervising the pupils in the dark of the middle of the field in the Kentish countryside... while keeping smiling!
It took the group3h25 min to reach Dover via the Old Roman Road which is now partially destroyed due to new roads and housing developments. Getting to Dover was actually really good fun, lots of chatting, lots of fun and laughter - it seemed almost a stroll in the dark. We had a rest near the freezing water of the harbour was short (less than 15 minutes) and then we had to climb the seemingly millions of stairs to Dover Castle and walk back to Northbourne.
Coming back was a real test for us all, lots of moral boosting, lots of children encouraging one another and pats on the back, lots of quiet people pushing themselves to the limits. The hills seemed huge, the roads never ending.
The final hour and a half was the worst. Feet started to feel very sore and bodies physically exhausted and tired through lack of sleep. So it was a wonderful sight to see the children physically running the last 300 meters as the school came back into sight. But it would be difficult to match the huge sense of achievement, huge relief, huge satisfaction we did it!!
Our weary bunch arrived home at 7.29 am. The team received a warm welcome from their fellow boarders and enjoyed a large breakfast and the comfort of a warm bed until lunchtime.
All the children were brilliant, so focused and so inspirational. Their success was down to sheer determination, fitness, humour and goodwill of all, children and adults.
Mrs Tozer took her pedometer along which revealed that they took 35,987 steps during the evening and used up 1,128 calories (which they probably replaced with the chocolate they ate!)
Congratulations to you all. The children taking part were raising money to support their expedition to the Pyrenees later this summer.
