The Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) is a great way to get your students to try new things and push their limits.
If you’re unconvinced about the merits of launching the scheme at your school, you might want to hear from one DofE coordinator who recently explained how it has positively impacted students at his school.
George Peters, outdoor education and DofE coordinator at Bohunt School Wokingham, recently wrote an article about the expedition his pupils undertook for School Travel Organiser. As well as providing details of the expedition itself, he talked about how DofE had made a difference as a whole.
“We launched DofE due to the large-scale impact it has on students, the life lessons learnt from the teamwork, leadership and resilience they develop through the expeditions and many more attributes,” he asserted.
Mr Peters also revealed that staff at the school had also noticed a difference in the attitudes and effort being put in by the students working towards their Bronze award.
He also explained that the DofE ties in with a variety of subjects across the curriculum and is about far more than just doing outdoor activities. It can help youngsters learn more about map reading, ecosystems and nutrition, which ties into subjects such as geography, science and food technology.
If you’re not sure where to start with introducing DofE at your school, we can help you plan and organise DofE expeditions.
Once teenagers have completed their Bronze award, they can then move onto their silver and gold DofE awards. One group of sixth formers from Clevedon School were recently praised for their efforts in working towards their Gold DofE, North Somerset Times reported.