As a registered centre for the provision of The Duke of Edinburgh International Award, we'd like to commemorate HRH Prince Philip's lifelong legacy of service and dedication, by reflecting on how our students have developed independence, resilience and perseverance through the Award challenge which pushes for their personal limits and achievements.
Not all learning happens in the classroom. Our students each year take on the challenge of The Duke of Edinburgh International Award and chose to complete either their Bronze (Year 10), Silver (Year 11) or Gold Award (Year 12/13).
The Award is available to all young people aged 14-24 years and is the world’s leading youth achievement award. It equips young people for life regardless of their background, culture, physical ability, skills and interests. Doing the Award is a personal challenge and not a competition against others; it pushes young people to their personal limits and recognises their achievements.
The award comprises of 4 areas:
- Service
- Skill
- Physical
- Adventurous Journey
All participants are required to learn a new skill, provide a service to their community and develop an area of personal physical recreation. At gold level, participants also have to complete a residential project where they stay away from home and undertake a new experience such as learning how to cook, working at the National Trust in the UK, foreign language submersion.
In addition to this they will take part in both a practice and qualifying expedition in the great outdoors. The Award allows students to develop their independence, resilience and perseverance over at least one year for Bronze and more for Silver and Gold.
In 2019-2020 we celebrated 20 students achieving their Bronze award, 3 achieving Silver and 1 student, Hannah, who reached the pinnacle of the Gold award.
His Royal Highness leaves the world and its young people with an extraordinary legacy.
We look forward to seeing many more of our students achieve success in the International Award scheme and that "The Duke of Edinburgh’s legacy will continue to grow – and in doing so, champion and challenge young people from all corners of the globe – for many years to come."