Six adventurous 6.1 (Year 12) students headed to Morocco over May half term for a 10-day World Challenge expedition. It was an absolute pleasure to enjoy this adventure alongside such resilient, light-hearted and kind students.

It was, for all of us, a challenge on many levels. The travel, heat, physical activity, budget management, washing and sanitary facilities (or lack of) and management of our kit provided opportunities to problem solve and collaborate. We were, more often than not, away from access to data and technological entertainment, however, we recorded memories and quotes from the day in a diary and in the evening read out messages from home.

It was lovely to see what each individual student brought to the experience: Ciara had done her research and was great at letting us know about both the itinerary and the places we were visiting; DJ Gaby kept us entertained with music and humour; Miranda knows so much about everything, especially things science related – I had no idea that mules are infertile! Poppy sung her way up the mountain and teased us all; Niko (the mountain goat) drew some amazing caricatures and led the way on the hike; and Mila looked after us, showing a quiet leadership, making sure we were all ok and hydrated and generally being fantastic. I am sure, on reflection, that the students learned a great deal about each other and themselves.

Here, students and staff reflect on their experiences.
 
Community Initiative, by Ciara, 6.1

After a long day of travel and our first meal in Morocco, we had an earlier start than we are accustomed to. The day started with a four-hour bus trip filled with music, laughter and desert vistas, and we were overwhelmed by our first views of Ouarzazate. We were there for a community project and all expected it to be a little village but, in fact, we were in a city known as the Hollywood of North Africa.  

We met our host Hussain, an English teacher who welcomed us into his home. After some welcome mint tea and biscuits that looked too beautiful to eat, we applied our sunscreen and set off to explore the city. With Hussain as our guide, we started off by passing the school we would return to work at. Soon we arrived at the Cinema Museum Ouarzazate. Having confirmed it was in budget, we bought our tickets. We began to explore and were quickly fascinated by the detail and realism of these sets, despite being made of flimsy material. Within moments we were transported from the throne of Cleopatra to prison cells of Gladiator and to artefacts used in Lawrence of Arabia. Next, we headed across the road to Taourirt Kasbah, a historical fortified residence made from rammed earth and mud brick. We explored the little souk before heading to the supermarket for some well-earned ice creams. Back at the house and out of the sun, it was siesta time. We ended the day with some homecooked chicken tajine and more tea. We learned card games from one another and Hussain’s daughter, Yasmin, taught us how to write our names in Arabic. It was then time for some much-deserved sleep. 

The next morning, we again woke earlier than usual. We enjoyed some fresh bread and an array of toppings as fuel for the hard day ahead. We headed over to the school where we were met by the Headmistress and her son. With our hats on and the students in class, we started to garden, preparing the garden for rosemary and rose bushes. Lots of different people started to get involved and helped us, including the security guard and a French teacher. Making sure to constantly rehydrate and keep out of the beaming sun when we could, we made some progress. As a group we were treated to a mid-morning meal that consisted of French pastries and Moroccan delicacies such as Beghrir. Once the garden was prepped, a couple of us went down to the local garden shop and came back with a load of plants. Meanwhile, the remaining group members were given a tour of the school which has been set up to retrain young farmers who can no longer farm because of the lack of water over the past five years in trades such as welding, carpentry and electrical work. Getting back to work, we planted rosemary and roses and took a group photo to commemorate the day. It was very rewarding to see the difference we had made to the school environment once the plants were in the ground. We also purchased and fitted a long hose to ensure the garden was regularly watered. 

We later headed to the Higher Institute of Audiovisual and Cinema Professions and were toured around by one of their students. We saw all sorts of things, from their costume room to the prop weapons and nicely air-conditioned CGI room. We parted ways from our new friends and headed back to our temporary home for some lunch. That night, some of us made our way into the square where we heard music and explored another souk. After two amazing days we got some sleep in preparation for the next long day we had ahead of us.

Trek to the top of Mount Toubkal (the highest mountain in North Africa), by Alex Kerr, Deputy Head (Co-curricular & Operations)

This, for me, was the part of the expedition I was quietly dreading. I quickly realised, as we drove up into the Atlas Mountains, that my weekly Poet’s Stone hike was no real preparation for what was ahead. The sheer scale of it was overwhelming. Our base camp Gite was in the village of Aremd, which is at 1900m above sea level – a fantastic setting for a base camp where we were treated to delicious Moroccan food. On trek day one, we did an acclimatisation hike of 8km and a 550m climb to the Tizi h’Mzik Pass. This was a useful activity in helping us to learn to regulate our walking pace carefully, drink properly and wear the correct protective equipment because it was very hot.

Day two was the start of the hike and this meant packing our overnight camping equipment onto mules and preparing for the hike to the mountain camp site. We climbed over 1000m taking seven hours in high temperatures. I know that we were all quietly thinking, “can I do this, is it possible?” This hike, in itself, was a real achievement. We were spurred on by Gaby and her speaker, listening to some banging tunes including Baddadan, which was a bit of a theme tune for the trip. We encouraged fellow hikers into a little dance and a smile as we passed each other on the path. We arrived at camp exhausted and faced with the task of erecting our tents in a field of rocks and dust, and exploring the toilet tent which was, in itself, a challenge (say no more). Over supper we discussed the plan for the following day – the hike to the top. Niko, Gaby, Mila and Poppy agreed to give the hike a go and we planned a 4.30am departure. Head torches charged; we went to bed. None of us slept especially well, but we got up, had an early hearty breakfast of porridge mixed with chocolate spread, and set off in the dark. We were very quickly met by a rock-face scramble which went on and on. We all felt nervous given the torch light visibility, so we took it slowly and encouraged each other to keep going. As we climbed, it became difficult to take deep breaths and we tired easily. On many occasions we stopped to talk through how we were feeling and motivated ourselves to walk to the next big rock or the next turn in the track. Gaby and Niko found the upward hike far easier than the rest of us, but we stuck together. We had some great laughs, told jokes, listened to music and kept morale high. At one point we all had a giggle at Poppy who said, “Alex, I’m not a walker”. It was emotional but we all reached the top, 4167m above sea level; it felt great. Unfortunately, we all knew that the next challenge was to walk back down to camp. Almost more difficult than walking up due to the loose rocks and scree. We needed to be very careful, and the hiking poles were essential at this stage. After the 10-hour round trip, we were starving on our arrival at camp and greeted by a lovely pasta and salad lunch, cooked by the Moroccan support team and served in the cosy camp tent. 

We returned on foot to Aremd and enjoyed a hot shower the following day. Never have we appreciated washing our hands with soap and warm water more. I think we all appreciate the everyday comforts that we take for granted a little more following this adventure! Well done to everyone; we couldn’t have done it without the mutual support that we shared. 

By Mila, 6.1

After the walk up Toubkal, we ended up in Marrakesh for two days, to explore the souks and the culture of the capital of Morocco. When we first arrived, we went straight to the souks and looked around to get a sense of what everyone was selling and the prices. We soon realised that before you can even look at something there would be the shop owner looking over your shoulder and making sure you like something. I think we all found this experience very exciting but also very overwhelming. There was everything from leather bags, spices, ceramics and rugs, to insane amounts of jewellery. When we decided to start buying, Poppy was an amazing barterer and got all of our prices reduced to almost half off or even below by saying, “I’m just a student, I don’t have that much money”. 
 
Later on, we decided to explore the square to look for somewhere to eat; it was quite overwhelming as there was music, prayer calls, monkeys on chains and cobra snakes everywhere, and all the venders were calling you to come and buy whatever rip off thing they were selling (they would even come up to you while you’re in the restaurants) There was also a range of smells from delicious food to the all the spices. Whilst we were they we mainly lived off of Tagines and couscous (which was delicious!)
 
The next day, we divided into two groups. One group was keen to return to the souks and buy some more goodies, the other, to soak up the culture in the city. First, we visited the Maison de la Photographie which was an amazing traditional Moroccan home converted into a photography museum with images dating back to the 1800s. We then visited Ben Youssef Madrasa, a historic Islamic school built in 1564–65 CE. This was a stunning example of architecture with delicately hand-carved walls and intricate tiles.
 
At lunch we all went to see the Mosque and the beautiful gardens and then half of us went to the spa, which was very much needed after the hike. We then went and explored the souks (the souks were a frequent destination). Our final meal was in a rooftop restaurant followed by Nutella crepes in the café next to our hotel. All in all a great visit to an amazing city.