Aylesbury Grammar SchoolThe Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
Bronze Award Programme: 2013-2014
Format of Meeting• Information about the DofE Award nationally• Demonstration of the DofE website• Information about the DofE Scheme at the school• General questions• Individual questions – after the meeting
Levels of the AwardAt Aylesbury Grammar School we are offering the following:
• Bronze Award: Year 10
• Silver Award: Years 11 and 12
• Gold Award: options planned for future years
All participants have until their 25th birthday to complete the award, but they do need to complete their award, and have it approved by the DofE, before progressing onto the next level
Once started with DofE, participants can complete it at another centre: they just need to arrange to transfer their account
Sections• Volunteering: 3 months
• Physical: 3 months
• Skills: 3 months
Plus an extra 3 months for any one of these – participant’s choice which one
Participation every week, averaging 1 hour per week
• Expedition: 2-day Training Expedition, then a 2-day Practice Expedition, then a 2-day Qualifying Expedition
Total time commitment: average of 200 hours to successfully complete the award
Completing the AwardFor each section of the award, participants need to:
• Set objectives and choose a qualified assessor
• Submit programme planners and get them approved
• Submit evidence and personal comments at the end of each section
• Get signed off by their assessor and submit assessor’s report
• Submit entire section and get it approved
Full information is on the DofE website: www.dofe.org
Recording ProgressMeans of recording progress:
eDofE Website:• Text entry• Activity logs• Photographs• Video or audio files• Activity programmes• Team lists• Course syllabuses• Documents• Certificates• Letters of thanks
Only evidence submitted onto the eDofE website can be accredited
Approval of AwardsThe procedure for approving awards is:
• Participant uploads and submits evidence each week• DofE Co-ordinator checks and either approves or queries
evidence (giving reasons) • When section is complete, participant submits section• DofE Co-ordinator checks and either approves or rejects section
(giving reasons)• When DofE Co-ordinator has approved all four sections
(Volunteering, Physical, Skills and Expedition), award is automatically sent to DofE for verification
• DofE check award and either approve it or request additional information or evidence
• When DofE have verified award, participant receives email confirming this from DofE
• Certificate and badge are posted to school for presentation
Lunchtime Meetings• Launch Meeting: Tuesday 22 October
• 12 x Focus Meetings: 5 in Autumn Term 5 in Spring Term 2 in Summer Term
• 3 x Expedition Briefing Sessions: the week prior to each expedition
• Expedition Presentation Session: soon after the Qualifying Expedition
Formal meeting takes about half an hour with time at the end for individual questions
Evening Meetings
• Training Expedition Planning Session: Tuesday 21 January • Practice Expedition Planning Session: Tuesday 18 March
• Qualifying Expedition Planning Session: Tuesday 20 May These are all 2-hour after-school sessions
They are all compulsory: any participants who miss any sessions will need to arrange to complete them at a later date
Expedition Dates
• Training Expedition: Saturday 15 to Sunday 16 March • Practice Expedition: Saturday 17 to Sunday 18 May
• Qualifying Expedition: Saturday 12 to Sunday 13 July These expeditions will all take place at different locations in the Chiltern Hills
They all involve carrying full expedition equipment and undertaking an overnight camp
They are all compulsory: any participants who miss any expeditions will need to arrange to complete them at a later date or with another approved expedition provider
Applying for ExpeditionsExpeditions limited to participants who have made good progress with the Volunteering, Physical and Skills Sections
Requirements: submitted all programme planners plus 6 weeks of evidence in total
Application deadline: end of autumn term
Successful applicants will do their Expedition Section in 2014
Unsuccessful participants can either apply to do their Expedition Section in 2015 or apply for the alternative expedition programme later in 2014
Alternative Expedition ProgrammeFor any participants who are unable to attend all of the expedition dates, there is an alternative expedition programme:
• Training Expedition: Saturday 21 to Sunday 22 June• Practice Expedition: Saturday 13 to Sunday 14 September• Qualifying Expedition: Saturday 18 to Sunday 19 October
These expeditions are organised by Zest for Adventure – they are not school visits and will not have any school staff attending
They will, however, follow the same operating procedures, with the same staffing ratios, and will cost exactly the same
Students from other schools are likely to be participating
CostsAward Programme:• Enrolment Fees: £120.00 – payable on enrolment. Non-
refundable Expedition Programme:• Expedition Fees: £175.00 in total – payable prior to the
spring half-term holiday. Non-refundable
• Equipment Hire: typically £23.50 per expedition (depending on what you need) – hired from Buckinghamshire County Council’s DofE equipment store at Green Park. Refundable deposit required
• Expedition Travel, Food and Fuel
Participant NumbersAward Programme:• Numbers not limited in any way• If numbers get too large to manage all at the same time,
participants will be offered alternative Focus Meetings to attend
Expedition Programme:• Numbers planned to be limited to 6 teams of 7 participants
per team• If numbers exceed this, participants will be offered places on
the alternative expedition programme• Ideally, participants can agree amongst themselves who
does which expedition programme• Failing this, priority on expeditions will be given to
participants who have made most progress with submitting evidence onto the eDofE website
CommunicationCommunication with participants is by:
• Lunchtime Meetings: Tuesdays
• Email Messages: to participants
• School Website: The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award section
In addition, key information, particularly regarding expedition arrangements, will be emailed to parents
We need to be kept informed of any changes to email addresses
Application deadline: prior to the autumn half-term holiday
What Next?• Read the Launch Letter, Scheme Information and
Programme of Events (available on the school website)
• Complete the Enrolment Form (available on the school website) and hand in to the School Office
• Make payment of the £120.00 enrolment fee by ParentPay
• Attend the Launch Meeting at 13:35 on Tuesday 22 October in S1
Contact
For further information, please contact the school’s DofECo-ordinator, David Goss, on:Email: [email protected]: 01525 850368Mobile: 07900 4103327