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Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme
At Leicester Grammar School the Award Scheme is very popular with over
50 students working towards their Bronze Award in Year 11 and a further
50 working towards their Gold Award in the Sixth Form.
The students take responsibility for organising their own Volunteering,
Skill & Physical Recreation placements, but many of them may take place
at school at lunchtime or after school, for example Badminton Club,
helping to run the Bronze Groups or assisting the Junior School Staff
with sports practices. Other placements have included music lessons,
cookery courses, volunteering in charity shops & old peoples’ homes and
assisting at a riding school for the disabled.
Within school we run a number of expeditions every year. Bronze Practice
& Qualifying Expeditions usually take place locally and in the southern
part of the Peak District. Gold Expeditions have taken place in the
northern parts of the Peak District, Snowdonia & The Lake District. In
recent years we have also completed Gold Expeditions to the Atlas
Mountains of Morocco.
Both Bronze & Gold Groups attend a skills & team building camp at the
beginning of the year which is usually based in the Charnwood area of
Leicestershire.
The Award is an excellent opportunity for students of all backgrounds
& abilities to make new friends, test themselves by trying new activities,
develop team work & leadership skills and gain recognition for their
efforts. All students are welcome to enrol on the scheme regardless of
their previous experience of the great outdoors!
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award – HELP NEEDED
A very large number of pupils applied to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh
Bronze Award this term, resulting in some difficult decisions having to be taken
when selecting who could be accepted to be part of this year’s cohort. It is not
the first time we have been oversubscribed, but the number of disappointed pupils
is much greater than we have ever experienced before.
I am obviously delighted that such a large number of pupils want to take up the
Award, but the Grammar School only has a limited number of appropriately qualified
staff who are able to offer this extra-curricular activity. The staff involved have
created a programme of training and preparatory sessions for the expedition component
of the Award which is comprehensive and stretches over the rest of the academic year.
I am making an appeal to ask if there are any parents who have the Walking Group
Leader Award (WGL), the Mountain Leader Award (ML) or the Basic Expedition Leaders
Award (BELA), and are able to consider giving up their time to support a further
group of Grammar School Bronze candidates.
If we are able to find such expertise we would be pleased to hear from you. Please
contact me or Mr Donnelly at the Grammar School if you think you might be able to help.
Christopher King
Headmaster and Chief Executive
Click here
to see some of our recent D of E expeditions.
