The Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is one of the most prestigious and challenging programs available to young people today. Aimed at students aged 16 and above, the Gold Award encourages personal growth, resilience, and leadership through a series of activities designed to push boundaries and develop important life skills. Many of our students did a practice run of the expedition over the last few days.
Many of our students have over the past few months been contributing through 3 main sections of the Gold DofE. First is volunteering (12 months needed), one of the activities being community service. Students are expected to volunteer for a cause of their choosing, whether it’s helping in a local charity shop, assisting at a school or youth group, or working with vulnerable people. Next is physical (12 months needed)which is aimed at improving physical health and well-being, the Physical section encourages our students to get active. This could be anything from playing sports, swimming, or hiking, to practicing yoga or martial arts. Finally is skills(12 months needed), our students focus on developing a new skill or focusing on an existing talent. Whether it’s learning to play a musical instrument, mastering photography, or improving public speaking skills, this part of the award helps our students build their abilities and gain confidence in their talents.
Then there is a residential which is where our students go away for 5 nights, this is aimed at challenging our students and pushing them out of their comfort zone. Finally is the expedition, this is arguably the most physically challenging and is what our students have completed a practice run of this weekend. It involved hiking, which over the course this weekend consisted of a 16 mile and 19 mile day. As well as this there was camping, which was rough and cold, and working as a team to navigate the area surrounding them, furthermore our students needed to cook for themselves, which would have been a good chance to learn new skills. This has been an amazing and rewarding experience for all. Aaron in year 12 described it as ‘thrilling and challenging experience.’
By E Newtion
