The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme was launched at Guiseley School in 2016. We have gone from strength to strength with our biggest number of student participants this school year. 93 Year 9 Bronze students, 25 Year 10 Silver students and after our first Gold cohort since COVID last academic year we have 12 Y12 Gold students this year. The DofE is the world’s leading youth achievement award, giving young people the opportunity to be the very best they can be by developing the skills and attitudes they need to become more rounded, confident adults. Qualities that colleges, universities and employers are attracted to.
The award requires those taking part to complete four sections:
- Skill (learning a skill at least once a week)
- Physical (participating in physical activity at least once a week)
- Volunteering (being involved in an activity that benefits others once a week)
- Expedition (ranging from 2 days at Bronze to 4 days in an adventurous area at Gold)
These sections are completed in time periods of between three and twelve months depending on the award. Students are encouraged to use activities which they enjoy and find a challenge. These may include activities which they are already participate in, or they may use it as an opportunity to develop new skills and hobbies. The most popular skills that students learn are cooking and baking. However, arts and photography and learning languages such as sign language are also popular. Physical sections have included activities such as walking, climbing, kayaking, trampolining and team sports. Students have found a wide range of volunteering opportunities including volunteering with sports teams, helping at Parkruns, litter picking in our community and helping in local Care Homes.
We have developed our Expedition offering to include a progression from the local Yorkshire Dales area at Bronze level to the wilderness of North Wales and the Lake District at Gold level. We are proud to offer all training within school, and have a wonderful, dedicated team of staff who support running the scheme. We also have a large number of tents, stoves and other expedition equipment which is available to use.
Students develop a range of skills whilst completing their award including their self-confidence, initiative, a sense of responsibility, a greater awareness of their strengths, the ability to plan and use time effectively, the ability to learn from and give back to others in the community, problem-solving, presentation and communication skills and leadership and team working skills. A DofE programme demands persistence and commitment and cannot be completed with a short burst of enthusiasm. We hope that the students will find participation enjoyable, fulfilling and rewarding.