Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Pastoral

Staff

Mr D Sharp – Deputy Headteacher
Ms Arden – Head of Year 8
Mr Jobey – Head of Year 10

Ethos

The DofE has a positive impact on young people’s lives, in terms of their personal development and employability, and on wider society, from charities gaining active and engaged volunteers to businesses hiring work-ready recruits. It offers a unique way of building up the qualities any young person will need to cope with the challenges that life will throw at them, the ability to turn negatives into positives and introduces them to experiences that can alter their life forever.

Aims

The award scheme aims to help young people to:

develop self-confidence and self-reliance
gain a sense of achievement and responsibility
discover new skills, interests and talents
develop leadership skills and abilities
discover exciting opportunities
make new friends
experience teamwork, problem-solving and decision-making
increase their motivation
enhance their self-esteem and develop communication skills

KS3 & KS4 Curriculum 2019-2020

In Year 8, 72 pupils are follow a taster programme, experiencing a variety of activities to give an insight and an understanding of what is involved in following the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award

qualification.

In Year 10 pupils who would benefit most are selected by the Heads of Year in consultation with the pupils, their parents/carers and other members of staff. However, this is not exclusively the case and any pupil expressing an interest will be considered. They are given the opportunity to complete the DofE Bronze Award. Four sections make up the Award. These are Volunteering, Physical, Skill and Expedition.

Volunteering:

This takes place in the local community usually at local parks. Pupils will, for example, paint and mend fences and plant shrubs.

Skills:

The skill pupils develop is bike maintenance. They learn to strip a bike down and rebuild it.

Physical:

For the physical section pupils go canoeing. They are taken to a local Water Park and they are taught how to canoe in double canoes.

Expedition:

The expedition takes place towards the end of the year and it involves orienteering and an overnight camp. The pupils carry all their own equipment throughout the day and cook their own food on the camping stoves. They then do a second walk the following day.

In order to achieve the Bronze Award the pupils must complete a set number of hours for each section and successfully complete the expedition.