The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, outside of the CCF, is a recent addition to the range of extra-curricular activities on offer at Colfe’s. The Award aims to provide for young people an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding programme of personal development, which is of the highest quality and the widest reach. This is achieved by pupils completing the four sections of the Award. These are Skills, Service, Physical Recreation and the Expedition.

The Skills section encourages pupils to develop themselves, for example by gaining a first aid qualification. Service seeks to encourage pupils to help out their local community and Physical Recreation is aimed at getting the pupils to be active on a regular basis. These sections must be undertaken for a minimum of three months for the Bronze Award and 6 months for the Silver so a great deal of personal commitment is required to achieve an Award. This fact means that many employers now view the Award as an extra qualification and it gives pupils great satisfaction to be able to say that they met the challenge set by the Duke of Edinburgh and gained their Award. Colfe’s currently offers Bronze and Silver Awards, but there are plans to offer Gold in the near future.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has been very popular this year, with thirty Year 10 pupils completing their expedition and our first silver candidates also completing their Award. The Expedition usually takes place in the second half of the summer term and aims to encourage teamwork, self-reliance, decision making, planning and leadership skills, and to develop an enjoyment and appreciation of the countryside. It requires pupils to attend several training sessions on campcraft, navigation, risk assessment, first aid and route planning. Attendance of these sessions is a requirement in order to participate in the Expedition, and therefore complete the Award. The Bronze Expedition currently takes place in Kent where the pupils explore the countryside around the North Downs. They are required to cover 20 miles over 2 days with full packs, spending one night under canvas. A degree of physical fitness is a necessity here. The Silver Expedition takes pupils to East Sussex and the rolling landscape of the South Downs, where geographical highlights include the Seven Sisters, Cuckmere Haven and Pevensey Bay. Candidates plan their own routes covering 30 miles and 2 nights under canvas. The Bronze Award is open to pupils from Year 10 and above, whilst entry to the Silver Award requires pupils to have either completed their Bronze Award or be in Year 11 for direct entry.

Opportunities exist for pupils to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at Bronze and Silver level. The award is open to pupils from year 10 onwards.

Candidates must register for the award and purchase a log book which is used to record their progress. Regular meetings ensure that pupils have advice and help on how to complete the award. Successful candidates are awarded a certificate by the Award Headquarters. The award involves the completion of four sections: