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

08 May 2012

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh - Practice Expedition - 5-6 May 2012

With six teams, totalling 40 students participating on this practice, it was necessary to have two locations. The boys headed for Cannock Chase whilst the girls travelled to Pindale in the Peak District. On Saturday, each group had to walk approximately 12km carrying all their expedition equipment including spare clothes, cookers, tents, food, and first aid kits. A route had been marked for them and they were met several times throughout the day before arriving in camp. Once there they had to...

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03 April 2012

Congratulations!

Four more Year 11 pupils have successfully completed their Silver DofE Award. Congratulations to Alex Grant, Katey Gardiner, Elliot Brookes and Josh Upton.

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19 March 2012

Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme Successes

Congratulations to Alex Kuster and Lucy Darling who have both completed their Gold Award. For the Gold Award, one of the requirements is for participants to undertake a residential project for a minimum of five days. Alex chose to travel to Cambodia and Lucy to Thailand to undertake projects through Round Square. Congratulations to the Year 11 pupils below who have all completed their Silver Award. I look forward to them joining the Gold programme in the Sixth Form. Joshua Sul...

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08 February 2012

Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition Training - 28-29 January 2012

Last weekend the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award walking groups headed out into the Peak District for navigation training. We were met with snowy hills and beautiful views. Saturday was spent expanding the trainees knowledge of map and compass skills around the Burbage valley. The day ended with a group emergency scenario in the dusk, before night-navigating back to the school bus. The evening was spent at Edale Youth Hostel where the group cooked their own meal and planned their route f...

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08 February 2012

Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award Training - 4 February 2012

A group of the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award trainees gathered on Saturday morning for a day of further training and assessment on key aspects of the scheme. The day began with a basic first aid assessment, which the pupils all passed with flying colours. This was followed by practical first aid scenarios out in the school grounds, assessing how they would deal with emergencies when out on expedition, when assistance would not immediately be available. We made these as realistic as we could...

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