Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Journey Ben Wylie Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Coordinator ............................................................................................... Have you ever wanted to run away from civilisation for a while and just get back to nature? No cars, no crowds, no electricity, and no running water? Just you, the fresh air - and a dozen other people doing the same thing? Well, that’s exactly what six Grade 9 students and four Grade 12 students did last weekend, while working towards their Duke of Edinburgh’s International Bronze Award. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was established in 1956 by the Duke of Edinburgh, in conjunction with Kurt Hahn, who coined the “Six Declines of Modern Youth” and four antidotes to these declines, upon which the requirements for the award are based. To complete the Bronze Award, participants need to complete 3-6 months of continuous (at least one hour each week) community service, skills development (such as learning an instrument), and physical recreation, as well as complete an adventurous journey, where participants plan every detail of the journey themselves. The adventurous journey involves at least one practice journey to allow participants to hone their skills, and then a qualifying journey to show they can use those skills effectively.
to Hulu Tamu, near Batang Kali (about one hour away). The students decided that the purpose of the journey would be team building, and they designed activities to achieve that purpose. They also planned their meals for two days and one night, brought all the supplies they would need, including tents, food, dishes, cooking equipment, and they had no access to the modern luxuries we all take for granted. Grade 9 students, who were undertaking their practice journey, received a little more support than those completing their qualifying journey. The students explored caves made by rocks that had collapsed along a river, they hiked through the jungle, and were responsible for all aspects of their survival, from cooking meals on camp stoves beside a waterfall, to setting up tents in the pouring rain, to ensuring they ate, drank and slept enough. They remained in high spirits throughout the two-day journey, even when the rain would not let up. Grade 12 students went out of their way to interact with local staff, and even engaged them in a card game. It was great to see so many IB Learner Profiles in action during the journey, particularly Risk Taker, Communicator and Open Minded. Additionally, the Grade 12 students were Reflective, having learned from their practice journey, and putting those learnt skills into action in their qualifying journey.
Grade 12 students completed their practice journey in April 2016. To complete their qualifying journey, they chose to go
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