Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Official Duke of Edinburgh's Award website (please click here)
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Group is a very active one in School, involving Years 10, 11 and the Sixth Form. In the Summer term of Year 9, pupils are invited to register for the Bronze Award which will occupy them in Year 10. There are four aspects to the Award: a Skill, a Physical Recreation, a Service and an Expedition. A number of activities are on offer at Ryde to help pupils with these requirements, such as pottery, photography, squash, sports leadership, drama, music, buddying, conservation group, hockey and tennis. The Bronze group meets on a Monday afternoon, to learn about the various skills involved in an expedition, such as camp-craft, food, navigation, first aid and map reading. The group have three expeditions during the year, an Island training weekend in October, a practice expedition in the New Forest in April and a qualifying expedition in May, also in the New Forest, which covers 15-20 miles over two days.
The Silver Award group begins in the summer of Year 10 and continues with the four elements, but for longer. The students are expected to be more self- motivated and organised at this stage, sometimes finding their opportunities outside of school. The expedition is for two nights and three days, and will be in more open and hilly terrain. The students are expected to cover 30 plus miles on their journey. They will complete a practice expedition in September and a qualifying one after the exams in June. We use areas such as Dartmoor and the Breacon Beacons.
The Gold Award group begins at the start of Year 12. We continue with the four elements, but additionally the students have to find a residential lasting five nights to do somewhere off the Island.
We encourage students to have completed either the Bronze or Silver Awards, but preferably both before they attempt the Gold. We are a little more adventurous with our expedition destinations at this level, which has included West Wales and the Lake District.
Each level of the Award has its own challenges and rewarding experiences. The Award Group in school is a vigorous one, that organises on average nine expeditions a year and gives youngster valuable experiences, that stay long in the memory of those who engage in them.