Programme Notes for Parents

Perth High School

Programme notes for parents

and participants - BRONZE

The Duke of Edinburgh Award programme has been running at Perth High School, for many years now and has grown to become highly inclusive,with pupils engaging in the most diverse range of activities and expeditions, to achieve truly life changing results for themselves. However, this does not happen by accident it relies on a massive team of volunteers to supervise, mentor and assess pupil’s activities. If you would like to help, in any way please contact Tony McClelland at the school to discuss training and volunteering opportunities.

Unfortunately we are unable to offer DofE expedition places to everyone. We have decided to offer places to pupils who have shown the most commitment to the other three sections of the award (Skill, Physical and Volunteering). This means that pupils need to take ownership of their award and make it happen. The following pages outline what you need to do to earn yourself a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award. The first thing to ask is…

How much commitment does it need?

You must do a minimum of 3 months activity for each of the Volunteering, Physical and Skills sections, and plan, train for and do a 2 day (1 night) Expedition.You also have to spend an extra three months on one of the Volunteering, Physical or Skills sections. It’s your choice which one and, though you can change your mind later, it helps to decide which section you want to do for longer at the beginning. Knowing how long you’re going to do it for will help you tochoose your activity andset your goals for eachsection. It usually takes at least 6 months to complete your Bronze programme.

You need to show regular activity and commitment during this time of averaging at least an hour a week. You can't achieve an Award in a short burst of enthusiasm over one weekend!

You can start your Bronze DofE programme once you’re 14. If you are one of the youngest in your year, this can mean delaying your start date. Don’t panic! See Tony for advice.

Timetable

16th November - I will meet pupils at lunchtime and explain what is involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. At this point we cannot guarantee an expedition place to any pupil. They will be invited to begin the activities required to complete the Skill, Physical and Volunteering sections. They should first of all visit the website will help them decide on the activities they would like to do. They should also identify an appropriate assessor for each section – this is someone who can oversee their activities, challenge them to develop and ensure their safety throughout. Good examples would be your football coach, music instructor, art teacher or charity shop manager.

You should record what you do on the Activity Logs available here…

The end of February is the very latest hand in date for these sheets. By the end of that week we will have compiled a list of the 63 pupils who have shown the most commitment and earned an expedition place (plus 2 reserves). This will be posted on the DofE noticeboard outside G26.

The following week there will be a meeting at lunchtime to organise expedition groups, you can speed up this process if you have organised yourself into a group of 7 and decided on an aim. Details here… Information letters and consent forms will be issued at this meeting.

In order to guarantee your expedition place you must now…

1)Returnthese forms with payment (contact Tony if finances prevent you taking part)

2)Log onto eDofE* and complete the volunteering / skill / physical sections

If you fail to do either of these before the end of March you will lose your expedition place and it will be offered to the next person on the waiting list.

Mid March – Start expedition training. There will be a number of sessions (3.40–5pm)in the run up to your practice expedition. These usually take place on a Tuesday for groups 1-3, Wednesday for groups 4-6 and on Thursday for groups 7-9. You MUST attend all of these; if this is a problem you should talk to Tony and arrange to attend the session on a different night.

*eDofE is the awards online logbook. It is used for recording activities and evidence for each section of the award. It can be accessed via most internet enabled devices including smart phones. Training on how to use eDofE will be offered during lunchtimes in the library. See DofE noticeboard for details

Practice expeditions (Early May)

Based around Dunkeld. During these two days a qualified leader will teach you all the things you need to carry out your own expedition. It is up to you to show them you have learned everything, if they are in any doubt regarding your ability to expedition safely they will not approve your training and you will not be allowed to attend your qualifying expedition. Your overnight will be at the Inver Mill Campsite, where you can use the facilities provided.

Qualifying Expedition (Mid May)

Based in the southern Cairngorms. For this expedition your group will operate “independent and unsupported”. There will be staff in the area but you and your group will be responsible for all major decisions like…Map-reading, cooking, pitching tents, your aim and dealing with any emergencies. The campsite for this one is in Glen Derry, there are no toilets and no phone signal.

Each group will have a DofE assessor, who is there to ensure you follow the 20 conditions

By this point you will be well prepared and know what you need to do. Just make sure you are busy (walking or doing your aim) for at least 6 hours each day. There are no prizes for getting back first, take your time and enjoy the experience.

Expedition Report

The final stage is to record your thoughts about expedition. This can take any form you like so long as it tells the story of your journey. You should also include some evidence of what you did for your aim. It can be written, PowerPoint, poster, scrapbook, speech, or any other format that works for you. It should be equivalent to the effort / time taken to write 2 pages of A4. If you want to work in a group to produce your report the size of what you produce should reflect the number of people working on it. (e.g. 2 people = 4 pages etc.)

You can either load your report onto eDofE or hand it to your assessor as soon as possible. If you leave it you will forget what happened and find it harder to write. You should aim to have your Bronze award completed before the summer holidays as staff will not have much time to process them after this.