The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme (D of E)

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme (D of E) is a highly valued and nationally recognised developmental programme for young people. The prestigious Gold Award is very well respected by prospective employers and university admissions staff. Many Old Abbotsholmians look back on what they learnt and experienced in undertaking the Award with great fondness and appreciation. We actively encourage the Duke of Edinburgh Award as we believe it offers an excellent way for individual pupils to grow and develop, beyond what is learnt in the classroom.

At Abbotsholme School the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme is open to all pupils in Year 9 and above. It is a non-competitive programme and requires commitment and responsibility. It is enjoyable, fulfilling and rewarding and achievable by all.

In Year 9 all pupils participate in the Bronze Award. The majority of our pupils opt to continue their commitment into the Silver Award in Years 10 and 11 and the Gold Award in the Sixth Form.

Each D of E level has four sections with an additional residential section at Gold level.

Volunteering	In the volunteering section pupils undertake service to individuals or the community. e.g. helping in the junior school or on the school farm.
Physical	In the physical section pupils aim to improve in an area of sport, dance or fitness. e.g. playing hockey or football, learning to climb.
Skills	In the skills section pupils develop practical and social skills and personal interests. e.g. playing a musical instrument, clay-pigeon shooting, drama.
Expedition	In the expedition section pupils plan and train for the completion of an adventurous journey in the UK or beyond. During our dedicated OEd sessions pupils learn the necessary skills of navigation, camp craft and first aid to complete this section of the Award with confidence.
Residential	At Gold level, participants must do an additional fifth residential section, which involves staying and working away from home doing a shared activity. e.g. undertaking conservation work, attending a cookery course, participating in an International Round Square conference or completing a tall ships voyage.

The main differences between the levels are the minimum lengths of time required to complete them and the degree of challenge. This is summarised below:

At Abbotsholme, our extensive extra-curricular programme and excellent facilities enable us to offer pupils a very wide range of opportunities to complete sections of their Awards. The farm, equestrian centre, theatre, music department, sports centre, climbing wall and school estate all help us to facilitate pupil achievement in the Award Scheme. Our timetable also contributes to this, too, in our Wednesday afternoon programme and our unique Abbotsholme Expectations (AXs) on a Monday afternoon. However, pupils are also free to use out-of-school activities to complete their award if they so choose.

Our expertise, facilities and contacts in the field of outdoor education also enables us to offer our pupils a range of options for their expeditions. Recent groups have completed ventures by mountain bike in Sweden and by open canoe on the River Spey in Scotland.

Once pupils have completed an Award at Bronze or Silver level, their achievement is recognised with the presentation of a badge and certificate in Chapel by the Headmaster. Once they complete the Award at Gold level their badge is awarded during a special Awards’ Chapel within school and pupils travel to St James’s Palace in London to receive their certificate from a member of the Royal family.

For further information about the Duke of Edinburgh at Abbotsholme School please contact the Duke of Edinburgh Manager Joy Holmes by e-mail, at joy.holmes@abbotsholme.co.uk

For general information about the Duke of Edinburgh please check the website at www.dofe.org

21 October 2011

Duke of Edinburgh Update

Charlotte Thornewill is the first person in Year 11 to complete her Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Congratulations Charlotte!

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14 October 2011

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Awards

Congratulations to pupils in Y10 and Y11 who have successfully completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Pupils will shortly be presented with their Bronze Certificate and Badge in Chapel. Rosie Sankey Callum Bodger Sarah Lymer Jacob Bushell Adrienne Kuster Christopher Contat Jack Hibbert Edward Hibbert Samantha Henry Georgia Haynes Kyle Bradbury Arran Bodger Max Bettson-Burdett Seth Amos Samuel Weigert ...

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12 October 2011

Silver DofE Assessment in the Peak District – Year 11 Hikes

The 32 students participating in this year’s assessment could not have picked three better days of weather, even in the summer months. Their waterproofs remained firmly at the bottom of their rucksacks for the duration. The six teams were dropped off in three separate locations around the Hope Valley. Three walked clockwise and three anti-clockwise, so that there were always two groups crossing at midday and two different groups sleeping in each campsite. Walking almost 60km in th...

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30 September 2011

Duke of Edinburgh Silver Assessment

The heat has made this a real challenge for our students over the last few days. Some of them have aged considerably.

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26 July 2011

A Year in the Life of Abbotsholme

What an exciting year we have had at Abbotsholme! To show you just a few of the things we have been up to, we have added a photo album on our facebook page. To view, go to http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Abbotsholme-School-Official-Facebook-Page/168832456490264 or search facebook under 'Abbotsholme Official Facebook Page' and don't forget to click 'like' if you want to be our friend!

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