This week we celebrate our Duke of Edinburgh Award cohorts. After nearly two-years of being unable to run the programme as normal, it was brilliant to finally get pupils out to prep for the expediation component, which took place last weekend.
Here is a summary from Mrs de Mora, our DofE Manager:
Sixty-two pupils celebrated achieving their Bronze qualifier/Silver practice expeditions for the Duke of Edinburgh’s award on Friday 08 to Sunday 10 October. This is the first-time these pupils have been able to get out as a group since the pandemic began and followed on from a training day in school the previous week.
To achieve a DofE Award, pupils must volunteer in their local community, learn a skill, take on a physical activity and plan and undertake a two/three-day expedition. The aim of the expedition programme is for pupils to develop team participation and leadership skills, alongside their appreciation for the outdoors. As part of the weekend, the pupils had to be completely self-sufficient: so, they had to carry everything they needed on their backs, including camping and cooking equipment, first aid kits and lots of snacks!
The Friday was spent in school with the Silver Award pupils having an evening of setting up tents, cooking their evening meals and getting stuck into Mr Steward’s games, including cubs. Mr Steward very kindly offered his help and experience all weekend, having retired from teaching last year, which the pupils appreciated with a big cheer when they saw him again. A great group of staff also gave up part, or all of their weekend, to help, which included Mr Roberts, Mrs Swan, Ms Baker, Mr Beeston, Mr Glattback, Mr Riden and Mr Watteau.
Saturday saw both the Bronze and Silver groups walking a route of approx. 10 miles, starting from Jennycliff, following the coastal path to Wembury and then walking across the countryside back to school. The energy was maintained when getting back to school with a camping style evening of tents, cooking and games. On Sunday, the day started with the Cremyll ferry and a hike from Mount Edgcumbe, around to Kingsand, and then back through the countryside to get to the ferry. All groups were then debriefed by assessors and signed off as passing the 20 conditions of the expedition, seeing an end for our Bronze groups, with some in Year 11 having had a long wait to complete due to the pandemic.
It was a fantastic weekend. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The staff and pupils thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity, and I can’t wait to do it all again next year with the new Year 9 Bronze group and current pupils progressing on to their Silver award. Thank you so much to the pupils for being a credit to the school with your conduct. I’m really proud of all of you, congratulations! A big thanks to the staff who volunteered their time, it wouldn’t of happened without all your hard work.
There are currently over 400,000 young people taking part in a DofE programme across the UK through a variety of centres. Widely acknowledged as the world’s leading achievement award for young people, DofE programmes enable any young person, aged 14-24, to develop key skills for life and work, such as confidence, commitment, and teamwork. It’s fun, it builds resilience and leadership skills, gives you new experiences and challenges and gives you the ‘edge’ when applying for university or employment.
On Wednesday this week we were joined by our local Councillor, Rebecca Smith, who met with a group of Sixth Form pupils to find out what’s important to them within their local community, and listen to their ideas of what could be changed. Rebecca also joined senior staff on duty at the end of the day to consider how road safety measures could be improved along Church Road, an issue we feel very strongly about. We would like to thank Rebecca for her time – it was greatly appreciated.
