The Bronze Award
This
falls into 4 sections:
1.
Service: Regular
involvement in an activity that is of benefit to other people in
the community. Examples could include: assisting with a junior sports
team, helping out at an old peoples home, an animal charity, a youth
group or a cub / scout group, doing a first aid course etc.
2.
Skill:
Developing an area of personal interest such as playing a musical
instrument, learning how to create a website, joining a journalism
club, learning photography, or something more unusual like studying
the ancestry of your family, how to do magic tricks, sign language
etc.
3.
Physical Recreation:
Participation in any form of physical activity, from a school sports
club, a fitness programme, sailing or cycling, to hand gliding,
wrestling, snowboarding or yoga.
All
the above should be done in your own free time (ie. not during a
PE lesson).
The activities need to be done on a regular basis (approximately
1 hour per week); 2 of them for 3 months and the other for 6 months.
Many of you will already be doing activities that can count towards
the award. For more ideas click on the link above to visit the main
D of E website.
4.
Expedition:
In groups, you will have to plan, organise and complete two 2-day,
1 night camping and walking expeditions (more details below). Both
will be a minimum of 6 hours activity per day and you will carry
everything yourselves.
At
Kenilworth, students will be put into groups of 6 or 7 and a member
of staff will be assigned to each group to guide them through the
award. The expedition training and the practice expedition will
be supervised by qualified staff and will be based in Warwickshire
between March and July. This includes a short 1st aid course run
by a qualified provider. The assessed expedition will take place
in The Cotswolds in September. Students are expected to become independent
and, after receiving training and gaining experience, the group
should be self-reliant for most of the expedition.
Who
can take the Award?
The Bronze award will be launched in November 2006 for the present
year 10. There are important changes this year due to the
huge demand for places (last year, 130 people handed in application
forms before registration!). There will be no limit to the number
of students who can join the scheme. However, participants must
have started the service, skill and physical recreation sections
before 9th February in order to continue the award through the school
(unless there are exceptional circumstances). This means that at
least 2 of the sections must be signed off in the blue record book
by 9th May
.
The D of E Award charges £11 to sign up, which includes their
expenses and insurance. We will charge £40 in total for the
expeditions. We can provide all tents, stoves and maps, and we have
a good supply of expedition rucksacks, camping mats etc that we
can loan to students for a deposit of £10. If the cost is
prohibitive, then we are normally able to provide funding from other
sources, as well as almost all equipment needed for the expeditions.
Students with special needs or disabilities are always welcome.
You
will need to be enthusiastic about learning new skills, helping
other people and working as a team. You should be prepared to organise
the sections for your skill, service and physical recreation (although
we will be happy to give you ideas), and to plan your own expedition.
The training and planning takes place during 10 hour long sessions
after school on Fridays and a whole day off school during May and
includes navigation, cooking on camping stoves, route planning,
and discussing progress on the other sections of the award. As well
as being a real learning experience, it is really enjoyable and
even the more uncomfortable moments (you’re lost, tired, hungry,
your feet ache and it’s pouring with rain) eventually turn
into fond and long lasting memories!!
Silver Award
For Year 11 students enrolment for the Siver Award will take place
in November.Planning and preparation will take place during weekly
evening meetings starting in January.
The
cost is £15 to cover enrolment and expenses, and £30
for each expedition. As with bronze the necessary tents, stoves
and maps will be supplied. The sections are similar to Bronze, except
the the expedition is longer (30km) and in more challenging country,and
the Service Section and either Skills or Physical Recreation lasts
for six months, with the others for three months.
There will be a training day in March and the practice expedition
will be in the White Peak area of Derbyshire over the May Day bank
holiday weekend. The Assessed expedition takes place at the end
of the summer term in the Shropshire/ Welsh Borders area.
Gold Award
When
students reach Castle 6th Form, the Gold award is offered. This
involves a week long residential project, and a 4-day, 3 night expedition
/ exploration. Students will be expected to plan this part of the
award (with guidance) and, depending on finances, could include:
An expedition in the Welsh mountains or the Lake District
A canoe expedition in the Great Glen in Scotland
Hiking in the Alps / climbing Kilimanjaro in Africa / trekking in
the Himalayas … the possibilities are endless!
More information
If you have any questions, please contact Richard Marr (music department)
for the Bronze Award, John Evans (library) for the Silver Award,
or Penny Spooner (geography department) for the Gold Award.
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