DofE Award

Newmarket Academy is a registered centre for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Students opt to enrol for the Bronze Award at the beginning of Year 9 and work on their chosen activities during the year, aiming to complete the award by July.  There are four sections: three individually chosen activities – physical, volunteering and skill – and the group expedition. Students show great commitment and determination through their participation in the award. Many try new things and gain a great deal from taking part. We aim to offer Silver in Year 10 for those students keen to continue their DofE journey.

Physical, Volunteering and Skills Sections 

The activities students choose can be many and varied. For example, water skiing and hip-hop would be excellent for the physical section, alongside more usual activities such as swimming, football and gym. For volunteering our students often support their local area with litter picking, gardening or dog walking for the elderly. Youth work with organisations such as Brownies or Cubs, or volunteer formally for a local charity. For their skill, learning another language – be it Ancient Greek, Sign Language, French or Spanish – or musical or drama participation are popular choices along with cooking and baking.   
  

Expedition Section  

For the Bronze expedition section, students choose their own groups. In the autumn and spring terms we have regular meetings to learn about kit, food planning and DofE catch up in general.  We use East Coast Outdoors (ECO, an AAP – approved activity provider) to organise our expeditions.  A leader from ECO comes into school a few weeks before the expedition to give a presentation and training in preparation for the expedition. The training walks and assessed expedition happens over 3 days and 2 nights usually at the end of the Spring term or beginning of the Summer term. The groups show grit and perseverance while working well as a team to make a success of their trip.  
  

Can you help?  

The school has a small team of teachers who volunteer to  work with the students, training, supervising and assessing them. We are always very happy to hear from parents and carers who have some level of qualification or experience, and who would like to get involved in helping with the award or offers of volunteering places.

For more details, please contact the Duke of Edinburgh Manager, Caroline Smith CSmith@newmarketacademy.co.uk