Pupils proved their pedal power when they covered 100 miles in a three-day cycle.

Year 11 students from the Wey Valley School embarked on a challenging cycle and camp expedition across Devon as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award. 

The group planned a 100 mile route from the coastal town of Ilfracombe to Plymouth, part of the Devon Coast-To-Coast route, co-ordinated by Sustrans.   

 The students took part in a practice expedition in the Weymouth and Fleet area to help the students prepare and become more organised, improve their fitness and work well as a team.  

Mr Salmon PE teacher and lead for outdoor education said the two teams arrived at the start of the challenge in Ilfracombe and immediately faced their first challenge.

“They had to cycle a long and arduous hill out of the town before reaching the old railway line. They had a few issues with bike packing with bits falling off but after a fragmented start they were off. The route followed old railway lines, country lanes and cycle paths, winding its way down to Plymouth. Team two suffered with a number of punctures, but they showed great resilience to fix things and keep going, finishing into the dark. All teams showed good camp craft skills and were faced with putting tents up and cooking under torch light’. 

Mr Salmon, commended the groups’ successes.

“It was a very challenging route with lots of elevation and of course we had mixed weather and shorter days due to the time of year,” he said.   

The staff assessors checked student progress during the expedition with all groups finishing in the National Trust grounds of Saltburn House. 

Duke of Edinburgh assessor, Richard Edgeley praised the Year 11 group.

“Congratulations to all the students, they must be very proud of their achievements. Their application of hard work and resilience on this expedition will put the students in good stead for their revision and studies as they approach exams,” he said.