YOU spend six months drumming into these Ten Tors kids, ‘read the map! READ THE MAP!!!’ They then go and blaze round the 35-mile course in no time at all and tell you they didn’t even look at the map, writes teacher Mitch Kingsland.

It’s then that you realise, they knew where they were all the time. They’d been there, they’d walked those miles, they’d trained hard on those very hills, visibility was great, they knew exactly where they were and where they were going, the training had paid off after all.

That was Watling’s team, he’d done it before, he had the motivation, he wanted to get home, back to one of his dad’s fabulous pies (more on that later), and most importantly, to get back before 2pm with his entire team intact. And yes, they did it in style, coming across the line, carrying our new Shebbear College banner (a big thank you to the Old Shebbearians for funding them) whilst nearly decapitating a few spectators on the final walk up to the finish line by 11.30 on Sunday morning. Astonishing!

Robin’s team had a different route, a team of first timers and some grim terrain to cross. When you start out on this adventure every October time, you tend to look at the group of young hopefuls and wonder who of them will make the team, who impresses, who turns up every training session, who faces up to their individual difficulties, who has the grit and the determination. Robin’s team of six had all of that in spades. They, like Alex’s team, camped on the Saturday night at Postbridge, but they had a longer walk in on the Sunday morning. Both teams were up at 4.30am and breakfasted, packed up and checked into their first checkpoint of the day before 7.30am — these children meant business.

All six crossed the line back at Anthony’s Stile at 3pm, a fabulous achievement and very much on a par with other teams on the same route. Quite how, when their feet and legs hurt so much, they look in such good shape is quite astounding.

It was great to see so many mums and dads at the finish, mustered around the gold Shebbear banner — you must all be extremely proud. If you’ve not experience Ten Tors, the magnitude of the effort, organisation, courage and determination of these amazing young people, then it’s doubtful you will fully appreciate quite the significance of what they have achieved. If I can take anything from this weekend it is that you should never under-estimate these exceptional children. An amazing effort, well done to you all — 45-miles next year?

Thanks must go to Mr Watling (pasties, good company, great enthusiasm, all round nice chap) and Mr Bennet (the same, but without the pasties), who have accompanied us along the way. And not forgetting Miss Kay Giddy for holding that flag up all day in the wind!