DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD

Our mission

To inspire, guide and support young people in their self-development and recognise their achievements.

Our Vision

To reach more young people from diverse backgrounds and equip them as individuals to succeed in life.

In June 2008 Archbishop Ilsley decided to launch the Duke of Edinburgh’s award with 20 pupils participating in the Bronze award. We have now developed the scheme allowing participation at Bronze, Silver and Gold award level.

The award is an excellent way to encourage young people to become ‘active citizens’. It is a motive way of putting citizenship education into practice. The award will give students the opportunity to gain an awareness of their potential and developed new talents and abilities such as; how to plan and use time effectively, building new relationships, problem solving, presenting, communication and most importantly how to lead and work as part of a team.

The award consists of four parts:

Volunteering

This is all about making a difference to other people's lives. Getting off the sofa and taking time out to change things for the better. The most popular choices are funding raising for a charity or caring for animals.

Physical

This part of your DofE programme is all about getting active. Whether you’re into sports, dance or general fitness it doesn’t matter – you can choose to do something you’re interested in.

Skill

Ever wanted to have a go at something completely different? Or get recognised for the time and effort you put into your favourite hobby? This is what the Skills section is all about. From podcasting to painting, from DJing to driving, from music to making kites, whatever skill you choose, allows you to develop new talents or perfect existing ones. Follow a passion or discover a new one, the choice is yours.

Expedition

For the Expedition section pupils need to be in groups of four to seven. In their teams, pupils will plan an aim for their expedition, and train to make sure they are fully prepared and know what they are doing! Once the preparation is done the fun starts when the pupils will go out and do a practice and then a qualifying expedition. Once the pupils have completed their final expedition they must give a presentation about their experiences and their achievements to their Supervisor, Assessor or another adult. The Bronze award pupils usually do their expedition around Blackwell in Bromsgrove. This year we took the Silver award pupils to the Peak district for their practice and to Exmoor for their assessment. The gold award pupils went to the Lake District for their practice and Snowdonia for their assessment.

To achieve your Gold Award, you need to complete an extra section – the Residential. This involves spending 5 days and 4 nights away from home on a shared activity with people you’ve never met before. It’s a big, exciting and very fulfilling experience. It may be that you want to build on a talent you’ve developed in another section, learn something completely new on an intensive course or do something to help others. From learning to snowboard in Scotland to helping at a children’s camp, from working with the National Trust to helping on an urban recycling project, or from learning French in Paris to sailing a tall ship, there are loads of exciting possibilities to find the activity that’s just right for you.