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Duke of Edinburgh - Diary and News
Silver Duke of Edinburgh Practce - Swanage - May Half Term
The Silver practce was an excellent opportunity to blow away the cobwebs and get out into the countryside before getting down to revision for the final exams. A great time was had by all with yet another learning curve navigating in Dorset, starting off with rain in Twickenham, blustering wind on the first night with portaloos blowing over! We ended up in glorious sunshine to finish on Sunday with the girls begging to get into the water to cool down in Bournemouth. These are the joys of Duke of Edinburgh for those who are thinking it is just walking with a pack on.
The Assessment will be taking place on Thursday 20th June - Saturday 22nd June in the New Forest - Hampshire.
All girls must be at school for 6.30am to load the minibuses ready to leave by 7.15am at the latest.
Janet Saddler
Expedion Leader
Duke of Edinburgh – Bronze Assessment – Surrey Hills
An excellent time was had by all. The rain that was promised never materialised and we has a glorious weekend of sunshine for our assessment.
The girls all made excellent time with their journey through the Surrey Hills arriving at Bentley's Campsite in Peaslake during the afternoon. Once the tents had been erected and campsite set up there was an impromptu Geography revision session led my Mr Rock that was enjoyed by all students.
After an early rise at 6.30 am the girls were all on their way by 8.30 am. After another 10 miles of strolling in the hills all groups had achieved their goal (Ranmore Common and the completion of the Bronze Award) by 2.00 pm.
Enough time to get home have a shower and a feed and back to the revision!
A participant writes: On Saturday 18th May, thirty excited Year 10 girls met at Newlands Corner to begin their Duke of Edinburgh Expedition. The sun was shining and despite the long journey ahead the girls' morale was high! All groups had learnt from their practice expedition and arrived in the early afternoon to set up camp at Bentley Copse. It was a wonderful evening full of games and social bonding. Mr Oakley was impressed by all the groups' efforts and teamwork on the first day.
The girls set off bright and early on Sunday morning, fully prepared from a long night's sleep and set off with their heavy loads. Some groups got lost but easily put themselves back on route. Everyone arrived, morale still high, and enjoyed an ice cream.
WELL DONE, EVERYONE. Looking forward to your journey presentations on Tuesday 4th June.
We could not have done it without the help of Mr and Mrs Oakley, Mr Rock,
Mrs Parfitt and Mrs Ruffle.
A very big Thank You to you ALL.
Janet Saddler
DofE Expedition Supervisor
Gold Award Forum - ‘GAF’
The Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Forum, called ‘GAF’ for short, is a forum made up of participants from different boroughs in London who are doing their Gold Award. We come together to represent D of E in London, bringing a young view on it, to help make changes and improvements. We are given tasks to do between monthly meetings such as designing posters and ways to spread the word of D of E nationally. We also have the opportunity to go on a residential trip which goes towards our Gold Award. This year we are going to Turkey.
Lauren Jackson
GAF member
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Practice Surrey Hills
We could not have picked a be5er week-end. The weather was excellent, the girls were challenged with the map reading but getting lost in the sunshine was excellent practice for the assessment!
Many thanks to Mrs Ruffle and Mrs Parfi5 for joining our team. I hope you enjoyed it. Looking forward to the assessment on 18th May.
Janet Saddler
DOE Leader
DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD
Bronze Kit Meeting Wednesday 16th January - 4.00pm Drama Studio
There will be a meeting for both parents and girls on Wednesday to order your complete kit for your expedition section. Our supplier will be present to answer any queries.
There will also be an opportunity for any questions parents may have regarding the Award. The meeting is compulsory for ALL girls.
Bronze Navigation Exercise - Sunday 3rd March 08.15 Bushy Park
Yes, - there are two 8 o'clocks in the day! A leisurely walk in the park whilst practising your navigation is a great way to see 8.00am on a Sunday morning. All girls participating in the Bronze Award must attend the session to navigate on flat ground before tackling the Surrey Hills in April.
Mrs Saddler-DOE Co-Ordinator
Bronze Award
| Bronze Practice Surrey Hills | 20th & 21st April 2013 |
| Assessment Surrey Hills | 18/19 May 2013 |
Silver Award
| Practice Dorset | 24th - 26th May 2013 |
| Silver Assessment - New Forest | 20- 22nd June 2013 |
Gold Award
| Gold Assessment - Lake District | 23rd - 28th June 2013 |
Janet Saddler
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Bronze Assessment - Surrey Hills
An excellent weekend was had by all. Meeting at Newlands Corner ready to leave for 08.30am (yes there are two 8 o’clocks in the day at the week end), everyone was raring to go with backpacks that were a lot lighter than the practice. A lesson learnt, do not carry what you are not going to use!!!
We were blessed with the weather; the rain that was forecast did not arrive and we all got up on Sunday morning to a bright morning with tents that did not even have a drop of dew on them. As you know tents are much easier to carry when they are not wet!
There was a record finish time of 1.30pm for the first group and 2.30pm for the final group in. Well done everyone on a job well done. We look forward to the Silver assessment in the New Forest on 29th June.
Janet Saddler
Duke of Edinburgh Expedition Leader
Duke of Edinburgh – Silver Award New Forest
An excellent time was had by all participants. The Friday afternoon walk over the moors was much appreciated by the girls following a day at school/exams, it certainly blew the cobwebs away!
Everyone had a great day on Saturday brushing up on their navigation skills and finding some excellent muddy puddles (hope the track suit bottoms have recovered Sophie?) Sunday proved equally challenging with mud and forest to contend with.
I am sure that once the tents, trangias, food choices and particularly boots (Ayesha) have been sorted out, the Assessment in June will be a breeze.
Well done, girls
Mrs Saddler
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Practice – 21/22 April – Surrey Hills
An excellent weekend was had by all and we were so lucky with the weather, sunshine all weekend. The only rain we had was at 8pm at night when all but one of the groups had got their tents up ( I am sure that group will walk a little faster next time!).
Many thanks to all staff for supporting us with their time, particularly Mrs Haehnel and her family, on Sunday. Clare (aged 4) was an excellent support to the girls as they came through Blackheath Forest ( we call it the Bermuda Triangle of the Surrey Hills) with her encouraging shouts of. “Keep going girls!” We are looking forward to 19/20 May for the assessment.
Janet Saddler
"I really enjoyed the trip on the weekend to the Surrey Hills. It was really good fun and the weather was amazing - completely the opposite of the prediction of heavy, torrential rain! The views were amazing and being lost for two hours, in the middle of a forest, really helped build friendships and make the experience all that more memorable."
Charlotte Alder
“It was a great chance to clear our heads before exams and a lovely way to spend a weekend. Everyone enjoyed the challenging practice weekend for the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. Despite the blood, sweat and tears, we found this a rewarding and refreshing trip. It was seen as a great opportunity to use the skills previously learnt and everyone was definitely put to the test."
Martha Sainsbury
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award
Navigation in Bushy Park
An excellent morning of navigation practice took place on Sunday morning bright and early at 8am. All girls arrived seeming very cheery and acknowledging that it was a lovely day for a stroll in the park. It was a huge learning curve for the girls and an enlightening experience for the staff who were accompanying them.
Many thanks to Mrs Pearson and Mrs Blake for allowing us to have the pleasure of their respective husbands' company, looking forward to the weekend in the Surrey Hills.
Our thanks go as always to Mrs Ward, Mr and Mrs Oakley and Mrs Edwards for all their help.
Janet Saddler / David Rock DOE
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award London Gold Award Forum ...or GAF for short
In case you aren't familiar with it, GAF is a Forum made up of participants from all across London who are working towards their Gold Award. The government is keen for young people to have a say in the design and decision-making stages of programmes and provisions that affect them and GAF ensures they have that say!
Simrin Grewall who is one of our Gold Award participants, has been selected from a large number of applicants to represent Richmond on the forum. Following the initial forum Simrin was contacted and invited to become the new Face of DOE. She attended a photo session on Friday. Look out for Simrin appearing in the monthly newsletters and all Award publicity in the future.
Mrs Janet Saddler
Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator
St Catherine’s has run the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Bronze level for a number of years. The award is open to students in Year 10 with enrolment beginning in Year 9. There is an intention to run the Silver and Gold Awards in Year 11 and the Sixth Form.
The course offers a chance for students to do something a bit different and face a new challenge.
Some Questions Answered.
What is the Duke of Edinburgh Award?
It is a chance to learn new skills and gain more self confidence as well as develop your ability to work in a group and you’re your community. You just need to be aged 14 and over and 24 and realise there’s more to life than sitting on a sofa watching life pass you by. You can do programmes at three levels, Bronze, Silver or Gold, normally Silver and Gold are done in Sixth Form.
You achieve an Award by completing a personal programme of activities in four sections. You'll find yourself helping people or the community, getting fitter, developing skills, going on an expedition
What do I do?
There are three sections to a Bronze Award:
- Volunteering - helping someone, your community or the environment (e.g: working in a charity shop or old peoples home)
- Physical - becoming fitter through sport, dance or fitness activities (e,g: playing in a school team)
- Skills - developing existing talents or trying something new (e.g: learning an instrument)
- Expedition - planning, training for and completing an adventurous journey. This is run through the school.
For many people it is possible that they are already doing many of these sections. Must you MUST complete all the sections to get the award.
How Long Does Take?
You must spend 3 months on each of the volunteering, physical and skills sections and you must do one for 6 months. There is an expectation that you will spend an hour at least a week on each section. Training for the expedition takes place in school time.
What equipment will I need to buy?
You will need sensible walking shoes, a walking rucksack, a sleeping bag and roll mat, wet weather gear and food and drinks.
How much does it cost?
The school charges £50.00 which covers the costs of Trangias, tents, maps and compasses. There are no other charges for the expedition section although parents maybe asked to pick up and drop off students.
The Richmond Award Centre charges £16.50 for the record books and admin costs.
Attendance
Attendance is expected at ALL sessions in order to successfully gain the award. Whilst the course is designed to be fun, challenging and enjoyable, full commitment to learning and respect for others is required throughout. Anyone failing to do this will be asked to reconsider their actions or be asked to leave.
Key Dates
The following events will take place in Year 10. The definite days and times will be added once known.
Introduction to the Award: There will be a talk about the nature of the award and what is involved. There will be a representative of Cotswold Outdoors to discuss appropriate equipment purchases.
Training Day: This will take place over one morning at the school. There will be sessions on map reading, tent construction and cooking using a Trangia.
Navigation Training Day: This will involve a morning’s map reading in Bushey Park, Teddington.
Weekend Training Day: A weekend walking and navigating in the Surry Hills in small groups and camping overnight in Bently Copse near Dorking.
Assessment Weekend: The girls will be assessed by an Independent assessor on the navigation, group work and camping skills. This will take place over a weekend in the Surrey Hills.
Presentation Evening: The successful girls can attend a presentation of their certificates at Hampton School.
Course Organisers
Mrs Saddler – Awards and Expedition
(please contact for all issues regarding assessment and training days)
Mr Rock – Admin
(please contact regarding all payment and signing off issues)
