It was time to celebrate DofE as we held an awards event in Peckover Hall on the evening of Thursday 7th May.

Current Silver and Gold DofE students gathered with their families to celebrate their achievements on the previous level, accompanied with a showcase of their expedition photos and a handover of certificates. Staff who helped with DofE also spoke at the evening, sharing stories of their DofE travels and the adventures it inspired them to go on throughout their lives. A particular highlight was Maths Teacher Duncan’s recent trip to the arctic circle where he saw the Northern Lights on multiple occasions!

To achieve the awards, Silver DofE requires students to complete an Expedition of 3 days and 2 nights, volunteer somewhere for 6 months, and complete the Physical and Skills section (One for 6 months, the other for 3 months). For Bronze DofE, students must complete 3 months in the Volunteering, Physical and Skills sections, and complete a 2 day 1 night Expedition. A big congratulations to these students on such a great achievement after all their amazing hard work.

Freya (Year 10) who was awarded her Bronze certificate, enthused: “It’s a really nice achievement to finally have the certificate in my hands! I came back from the recent Silver expedition in the Brecon Beacons and we had loads of fun on that, so I’d like to continue onto Gold after completing Silver. It was so nice getting to spend time with all my friends in a different environment. I feel I learnt a lot about my peers and myself in challenging but fun situations. It was also nice to hear how the teachers were inspired by DofE and their adventures, and I found that very inspiring for us this evening!”

Cameron (Upper Sixth) who was awarded his Silver certificate, had to say: “It feels very rewarding to have the Silver certificate after working so long to achieve it. Gold is challenging but great so far, and I’m hoping to make it to Buckingham Palace for the award ceremony there soon!”

Isaac Walker, Head of Outdoor Education, reflected on the evening’s purpose: “It was fantastic to see familiar faces that have completed their awards over the past twelve months. They’ve done a fantastic job to get all of their sections signed off, and it’s really important that we value and show off their success. Many of them have already started to progress onto the next level of the award, I’m hoping we’ve inspired a few more as well. I think it’s important we recognise the amount of time and effort that’s gone into completing their awards. Not just the expedition but all the other sections too. Like in volunteering where they’ve given back to their local community, which is really important and aligns well with our quaker values.”

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