Students from Varndean School are celebrating after completing their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) expedition.

Thirty three students from the school in Balfour Road, Brighton trekked for two days in the South Downs National Park, starting either at Arlington Reservoir or in Firle and making their way to Birling Gap.

The year 10 pupils walking in groups of seven walked independently 10 miles a day on average on agreed routes, hauling along with them their tents, clothes and food in rucksacks.

Despite the rain on Saturday, the students ploughed on and kept their spirits high. Hamish Hare, 14, said: “The hardest thing was walking through the rain, because it got really cold and all your things got wet.”

The pupils later stopped over in Alfriston, where they put up tents for the night and cooked food on trangias. But fortunately for students the sun came out on Sunday, and even a few rainbows made an appearance. “It was really lovely with the views. As we were walking you could see the sea below the blue sky, it was really special on the second day,” Jonah Garrett-Bannister, 14, said.

Also praising the experience Ella Paez-Bowen, 14, added: “It was really fun being with all my friends - talking and walking. Even though our bags were really heavy, you just forgot about it because we were together.

“There were some really lovely times at the camp site too. So I would definitely do it again.”

As well as the expedition, the Bronze Award requires students to volunteer, practice a skill and play a sport for several months.

The group are just the latest from Varndean to pass the expedition, who are expecting 140 pupils to pass their Bronze Award by the end of the year. Varndean School is one of the largest centres for DofE in the South East, with record numbers of students completing their bronze and silver awards year on year.

Varndean was the first state school in Brighton to become a Directly Licensed DofE Centre. The school regularly runs training days where pupils are trained to read maps and navigate, learn the countryside code and are taught how to use first aid. Practice walks then give students an opportunity to put their skills into practice at Devil’s Dyke, before students do a dress rehearsal on a practice expedition.

Alison Browning, challenge coordinator at Varndean School, said: “All the teams did amazingly well, using what they learnt from the training expedition to put into practice in the assessed weekend.

“I was very proud of the way the students dealt with the heavy rain on Saturday, and they showed resilience smiling through the rain.” “Seeing students from the start of their Duke of Edinburgh Award and watching them gain confidence, learn to work together and seeing their pride when they complete their expedition is so rewarding”.