Open Gold Qualifying Expedition

Our Open Gold Qualifying Expeditions, delivered over 5 days, allows plenty of time to travel, meet your team and assessor, refresh your skills, and complete your pre-expedition checks.

Book your practice and qualifying expeditions together and save 10% (DOFETOG10)

SPREAD YOUR PAYMENTS WITH

Expedition Details

£315 / person

Our all inclusive fee for open expeditions means you know exactly what you need to pay.

5-Day Expedition

Allowing plenty of time for travelling, there is enough time to refresh your skills ahead of the expedition.

4-Nights Camping

All camping fees, tents, and cooking equipment included.

Experienced Staff

With years of experience delivering DofE and backpacking, our friendly staff understand what's required.

Tents
Use of high quality 2-3 person tents.

Cooking Equipment
Cooking equipment, pans & fuel.

Camping Fees
All camping fees included.

Rucksack Covers
Team coloured rucksack covers.

GPS Tracker
Group GPS trackers.

Maps & Compasses
All navigation equipment provided.

Group First Aid Kit
Personal first aid kit still required.

Water Purification
Water purification tablets.
Travel
Transport to and from the venue.

Personal Items
For a full expedition kit list visit the

DofE Website

Expedition Food
For an expedition food list visit the

DofE Website
Purchase
As an AAP we are privileged that we can buy equipment at a considerable discount, a saving we simply pass onto you.

The best option for those who may be either wanting to carry on with their outdoor pursuits or planning on doing multiple DofE Awards.
Hire
The most cost effective solution for those that will only use the equipment for one DofE award.

All our personal hire equipment such as sleeping bags, liners, etc. are all professionally laundered between expeditions and a small surcharge is applied, again we do not profit from this.
We Can Help
We firmly believe that the DofE Award should be accessible to all and therefore can loan equipment free of charge for those participants who simply cannot afford the equipment costs.

However much we wish we could, we cannot afford to loan all our equipment out free of charge, if we could we would. We may request evidence of low-income.
Day 1

Our day commences at 13:00.

We allow plenty of time for you to travel, meet and greet your expedition team and our friendly APEXi staff.

Create your route and team goal.

We will be on hand to support you where needed. If you have already done so, our staff will review these and provide feedback.

Receive group equipment.
This also gives us the opportunity to do a full kit check with last minute advice on packing, food, rucksack adjustment, etc.

Have a training walk with your assessor.
This provides you with the opportunity to practice your map reading training and refresh what to do in an emergency.

In the evenings.

We will refresh your cooking and camping skills, ensuring you are familiar and safe with our supplied equipment.

With plenty of time to get to know your team members, it's a good opportunity to think about your presentation.

Time for a good nights sleep!
Day 2/3/4/5

You are now in charge! Good Luck!
You need to ensure you leave so you have plenty of time to complete your 8 hours of planned activity.

We strongly believe this is your expedition.

At this level staff supervision is remote and any involvement is at a level that maintains your safety, promotes your independence yet allows you to feel supported...enjoy your experience!

At the end of the day.
You will set up camp at your campsite and cook your delicious (?!) evening meal.

Daily debrief.
You will be debriefed daily by your assessor and this will give you an opportunity to raise any issues you may have.
Completion

Your presentation.
Upon successfully completing your expedition, you will have the chance to present your group's presentation to your assessor. If you're not prepared, don't worry; we can offer opportunities to complete this segment at a later date.

Assessors report.
Once all the elements are completed, your assessor will upload a report to your eDofE profile, providing evidence of your successful completion of the expedition section of your award.
We understand that transport to and from the venue can often be as difficult as the expedition itself! That's why all our expeditions are organised with this is mind.

Our staff are available by phone from 06:00 on your day of travel to try and assist with any issues, and on-site from around 08:00 to offer you flexible arrival times and to ensure we are there to meet you.

If you have any issues with getting to our venues, please contact our office staff who are experts in getting people to the right place at the right time!
We are in a very unique position in that we have Advanced Healthcare Professionals supporting you at no extra cost! Our staff, over many years, have enabled participants with complex medical conditions to safely complete their DofE expeditions, including:

Type 1 & 2 Diabetes
Asthma
Anaphylaxis
Heart Conditions
Epilepsy
ADHD (including controlled drugs)
Complex Medication Regimes

We don't just provide first aid, our Extended Medical Support is provided by prescribing Advanced Healthcare Professionals. This enables us to legally administer any medications (including controlled drugs) that you may need in an emergency, and help support monitoring your condition.