The Academy will again be running the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Bronze Award this academic year for Year 9 students. The DofE is the world’s leading youth achievement award, which aims to encourage young people to push personal boundaries, gain new skills and enhance their CV and college applications. Participating in the DofE programme can be a life changing experience. It supports young people in developing life skills, self-confidence and their capacity to work in teams. Students will learn to lead and to cooperate with others.
By committing to the course, there will be an expectation to commit to a series of training sessions which will most likely take place on a Monday after school 3.25 – 5.00pm. There is also a commitment to complete tasks in their own time independently, but to ensure that it fits in with their academic study, hobbies and social life. The students complete three tasks for three sections for one hour per week, which will take between six and nine months to complete. Those sections are Volunteering, Physical and Skills.
The Bronze Award will start in October for Year 9 students only. The cost of the award for students is to be confirmed but in previous years it has been approximately £130 which will include registration with DofE, all training both in school and externally, an overnight two-day expedition in the Summer Term and equipment required for the trip, for example, tent hire, rucksack and cooking equipment. Students will need their own walking boots and a sleeping bag but these will not be required until later in the course.
In order to confirm your child’s place a deposit will need to be paid via ParentPay. The trip will appear on ParentPay for you to pay an initial deposit of £30, payment to be made by Friday, 29 October. Please note that for the course to run we will need a minimum of 14 students, if we do not reach this minimum then deposits will of course be refunded. Once the award is confirmed further information will be distributed and a meeting set up. For further information on the award please visit www.dofe.org.
If you have any additional questions about the DofE Bronze award please email chakeman@tca.shirelandcat.net.
