Overview

• Seven Gordonstoun students spent four days in June retracing Prince Charles’s 28-mile Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award trek through the Cairngorms using the original 1965 route.
• The cohort rediscovered and relied on the archived logbook detailing the expedition’s path and weather notes from Balachroich to Rothiemurchus Lodge via Glenfeshie Forest and past Ben Macdui.
• Participants camped for three nights, navigated diverse Highland terrain and prepared their own meals to test resilience and teamwork in line with Gordonstoun’s educational ethos.
• Principal Peter Green praised the recreation as a powerful demonstration of Kurt Hahn’s philosophy of character building and outdoor challenge shaping student growth.
• By reviving its founder’s Moray Badge origins and Prince Philip’s later adaptation into the national DofE scheme, Gordonstoun underscored its enduring influence on youth leadership and environmental stewardship.