GOING FOR GOLD (THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD

1. Don’t be afraid to give DofE a go - put yourself out there and try new things. 2. Make mistakes and learn from them - that’s what the practice expeditions are for. 3. Keep doing your sections every week so the work doesn’t pile up. 4. Believe in yourself - if we can do it then you can too!

Sixth Formers Morgan B, Sophie C, Georgina B and Grace G are well on their way to completing their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Here they reflect on their experiences of taking part in the scheme and what they have learned along the way.

There was a feeling of excitement in the air when the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was launched to us in Year 10. Many of us had heard of DofE, but we were keen to find out more. We soon realised it was an amazing opportunity to develop important life skills, whilst enjoying shared experiences with both friends and people we didn’t normally spend time with. The idea of navigating our way around the countryside (and making video diaries of our adventures) was also very appealing! For each award level - Bronze, Silver and Gold - you have to complete three sections in addition to the expeditions: ‘skill’, ‘volunteering’ and ‘physical’. For the Gold Award, you also have to go on a residential, undertaking a shared activity or course with people you don’t know, away from home and in an unfamiliar environment. We have all successfully completed our Bronze and Silver Awards and are currently working towards our Gold. Completing the Gold Award will help us stand out in our university applications, and develop some of the key skills required to succeed in competitive job markets. As Sixth Formers we have become more savvy when choosing our DofE options, incorporating some of the activities we are already doing in our busy lives. For example, some of us have chosen learning to drive as our skill. Morgan is doing ballet as her physical activity, as she has done this for many years outside of school (read more on pages 67-68), and Sophie, who already enjoyed going to the Sixth Form fitness suite, has continued with her workouts. Grace and Georgina have both taken up yoga, which has improved their physical health and general wellbeing. For their volunteering activity, Grace, Sophie and Georgina have been taking part in an online database project via a platform called ‘Zooniverse’. It offers an array of different projects covering the arts, biology, climate issues, history, languages, literature, medicine, nature, physics, social science and more. Each project has a simple training module to complete which includes all of the specifics you need to know. You are then given a data set to classify and send to the project researchers. Georgina has been helping with a conservation project in Grumeti, identifying and classifying different species of animals. The project aims to maintain the dynamics of Grumeti’s unique ecosystem. Sophie has been busy organising data for the superWASP project (run by the University of Warwick) to support the search for black holes; she has also been involved in a project called GalaxyZoo, classifying images of galaxies from the Victor Blanco telescope in Chile. The work has developed her analytical thinking and ICT skills, as well as her passion for STEM and particle physics, and ties in with her post18 study plans. When you mention DofE, the first thing people often think of are the expeditions. These increase in length and become more challenging as you move from Bronze to Silver to Gold, demanding higher levels of commitment and skill. The Gold expedition, which takes place over four days and three nights, gives you the amazing opportunity to complete a wild camp, and you have to use bearings when navigating your routes. This might sound challenging, but you have lots of useful skills to draw upon from your Bronze and Silver expeditions. By the time you reach your Gold, you know how to pack efficiently, which meals to cook, and how to delegate effectively within your team. There’s a real sense of team spirit during the expeditions and on training days. On our Silver qualifying expedition our instructor came up with hilarious nicknames for us all, which we still use now! Georgina will never forget the strange tasting carrots someone added to our noodles, making for an interesting camp meal (but Grace made us feel better by chiselling sticks and toasting marshmallows for pudding!). Morgan was removed from teatowel drying duties after leaving one (our only one!) ‘drying’ on top of the tent all night; by the time she got up in the morning it had rained heavily and was soaking wet again! If you’re reading this and have been wondering whether to do DofE, we hope we have persuaded you to give it a try. It develops your confidence and leadership skills, and gives you bags of determination for your future endeavours. It can also be the start of unexpected friendships. And finally, if you make it to the end of your DofE journey, a member of the Royal Family will present you with your hard-earned Gold Award!