CREDITON COURIER

DURING the weekend of May 9 and 10, Queen Elizabeth's in Crediton entered six teams into the arduous Ten Tors Challenge on Dartmoor.

The teams faced hikes of 35, 45 or 55 miles, visiting 10 nominated tors over the two days.

The QE students had to be self-sufficient, carrying all that they needed to complete their route safely despite the terrain and the weather.

The brave students in the "35 mile team A", who were the seventh team over the line - a record for QE were Dylan Dudley, Ed McCarthy, Matt Goodman, James Hudson, Peter Boyle and David Gray.

In the "35 mile team B" were Andrew Bolt , Michael Richardson, Ruth Sansom, Brooklynne Tayler, Sophie Brockway and Owen Twigg.

The "35 mile team C" were Tom Cornwall, Charlie Slade, Taran Clark, Miryam Ley, Rebecca O'Sullivan and Grace Newport-Tucker.

The "45 mile team A" (the fastest on their route) were Sam Hatchell, Dan Ley, Billy Churchill, Emma Richards, Mattie Constantine and Sophie Bailey.

The "45 mile team B" were Elen Jones and Rebecca Ringborg, and in the 55 mile team were Rory Tucker, Howie Squires, Scott Chudley, Samora Shakespeare, Tommy Stevens and Ollie Peregrine-Coomer.

The 400 teams stood together to listen to a rousing speech from the Commander of the Land Forces and the reading of the Ten Tors prayer.

The guns of the 29 Commando regiment Royal Artillery sounded to signal the start of the challenge whilst the Sea Kings gave the teams a very low level flying salute.

The Dartmoor weather was as unpredictable as ever and the QE students were battered by gale force winds and heavy showers on their journey across the moors.

Harry Newman, QE Outdoor Education instructor, said: "I am very proud of all these students; they have endured some awful weather conditions throughout the training and the Ten Tors event.

"I hope they will look back on this in the future and forget about the weather, the blisters and the sore legs and realise just what they have achieved, not just as a team, but individually.

"Well done to you all, you should be very proud of your achievements."