Duke of Edinburgh scheme set to return

The youth award programme, which has a big emphasis on outdoor skills and community volunteering, is one of the many extra-curricular opportunities on offer which were praised by Ofsted for ‘enhancing the school’s curriculum’ in its recent report.

Priory School joined Bohunt Education Trust (BET) in 2014, and the re-introduction of the Duke of Edinburgh programme comes as part of the Trust’s focus on outdoor expedition programmes, which include trips to countries such as Iceland and Kyrgyzstan, to enhance the education and enrichment offering for students.

With the support of the Trust and DofE Lead, Geography teacher George Dean, championing the scheme, 68 year 10 students are set to take part in the first big expedition in May.

To achieve the Bronze award, students are required to complete four different activities. They must volunteer for worthy causes in their community, as well as taking part in physical activities and learning a new skill.

In the coming months, Priory will be holding training sessions on cooking, basic first aid and route planning with the first on tent building kicked off this week.

These are aimed to support the students with their expedition, which is the final step in achieving the award.

After completing practice expeditions to develop their navigation skills and put into practice the skills learnt, the final expedition will be completed over two days.

Leader of Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme at Priory School, George Dean, said: ‘It is brilliant to have such a large uptake of students who are excited to get involved with the scheme.

‘The number of students who are on track to achieve their bronze award by the end of the year is a testament to their hard work, and self-motivation.’