Students are required to make a contribution back to their community, with activities such as fund raising, conservation, working with children and first aid all counting towards the Award. The skills section encourages students to try or develop a skill, whether it is cooking, photography, learning a new language, or playing a musical instrument. Physical recreation can include the usual team sports, but also activities such as shooting, kayaking, table tennis and yoga. The key principle in all of these sections is that the students are choosing their own activities and participating for a sustained period of time.
There are three levels of programme which, when successfully completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The main differences between them are the minimum length of time they take to complete, how challenging they are and the minimum age you can start.
The three Award levels are:
Bronze – for those aged 14+ years
Silver – for those aged 15+ years
Gold – for those aged 16+ years
At Abbot Beyne School we have a very successful pass rate for our students achieving their award. We have seen over 150 students receive their Bronze and Silver Award since we began in 2017, with many returning to complete the next award with us. It gives the students a chance to show their potential outside the classroom and develop key skills such as leadership, communication, resilience and building relationships with staff in a different environment. We ensure that The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is for everyone and that we create a safe and fun learning environment throughout the whole award.
We hold meetings every Tuesday for Bronze, every Thursday for Silver and Friday for Gold Award students. This is so that we can ensure students are keeping up to date with their sections and that we can teach them some of the skills and practices beforehand. We use Showbie to keep evidence, upload videos and to help students with information and tasks we set before the expeditions. A Duke of Edinburgh’s Award logbook has been created at our school to help with the understanding of the award.
We hold several practice walks before expeditions to test map reading skills, fitness and ability to work in a team before students go onto the expedition.
For more information, please contact Mr Lynch j.lynch@abbotbeyneschool.co.uk
We also have several members of our cohort who have become Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Ambassadors for the school in which they received training and developed their knowledge further. It also looks good on their CV. Four of the last Head students at Abbot Beyne School have all achieved their Bronze and Silver Award, Ambassador training and are currently on the Gold Award.
Some things said by the students who have been on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE):
DofE was a very challenging experience but with the help of my team we made it through the many difficult expeditions despite getting lost many times and arguing a lot. Although DofE definitely tested the patience of my teammates, it helped bring us all closer as friends and provided us with memories we will never forget.
I love being outdoors, it was a great experience. I am currently working towards my Gold Award and I am an ambassador for DofE and would encourage anyone to get involved with it.
It was good fun, looks good on the CV and I got to go camping with my mates before we all moved on to different Sixth Forms or Colleges. I loved pushing myself and seeing what I could do, the staff who helped out on the expeditions made it so memorable and enjoyable. I made so many memories that will stay with me.
Fantastic award, I did things on DofE that I thought I would never do. I didn't really know my group before the DofE but by the end of it they were some of my closest friends and still are. Do the DofE you won't regret it.
I loved doing the DofE award at Abbot Beyne School. It was hard but I pushed myself and enjoyed doing the different sections. I also built up different relationships with staff and students that I wouldn't have normally done, which made the experience better.