Already renowned for its academic excellence, The Manchester Grammar School continually seeks to provide opportunities for pupils to explore their full potential both inside and outside of the classroom and to develop those important 'life skills' that will help them succeed in their future careers.
For this reason the Duke of Edinburgh's Award was launched at the School in the Autumn of 2006. On the first day alone, there were over 70 applications received from one year group, and from these applicants, 35 pupils were selected to be involved with the pilot scheme.
Message from D of E Manager, Eileen Thornber
Since its launch at MGS three years ago, the D of E scheme has proven to be a great success with our pupils. Having started with a pilot scheme at Bronze Level, we are now able to offer the Award at Silver and Gold.
The DofE scheme begins at age 14. As many of our boys do not reach this age until the end of Year 9, MGS offers the option to participate in the scheme in September of Year 10. After a presentation on the scheme, boys are invited to apply and, if necessary, are interviewed by a DofE leader.
MGS is able to offer around 56-60 places – limited only by the staffing of the expedition section, where the supervision requirements requires a large number of teachers. Demand for places can be higher, which unfortunately means that not all boys who apply are able to participate.
Once the Bronze Level is complete boys can continue with the scheme taking the Silver Award in Year 11 and progressing to Gold in the Sixth Form; 28 boys take part at each level. We use an outdoor activities company to deliver the Gold expedition during Activities Week.
Each level of the Award is divided into four sections: Volunteering, Skill, Physical Activity and the Expedition. Those completing the Gold Award are also required to undertake a week's residential position, such as working for the National Trust or attending a week-long event away from the School.
At Bronze Level, all the expedition work takes place in the Dark Peak and is delivered by Sam Crawshaw, Paul Freeman, Eileen Thornber and Barry Townsend.
John Holt is responsible for the Silver Award and this is based in both the Dark and the White Peak.
The Gold expedition is based in the Lake District, co-ordinated by Eileen Thornber.
In September 2008 the scheme was re-launched and is now referred to as D of E rather than the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. It also has an excellent website at www.dofe.org where an enormous amount of information is available about all aspects of the scheme.
If you have any queries about D of E, please contact Eileen Thornber for further information. Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The programme
The D of E is a voluntary, non-competitive programme of activities for anyone aged 14–25.
It offers an individual challenge and encourages young people to undertake exciting, constructive, challenging and enjoyable activities in their free time.
The Award is a four section programme with three progressive levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. The sections involve: Service, Skills, Physical Recreation and Expeditions.
At this time, just over 7% of those in the UK aged 14–17 participate in the Award and the Award has recently been rated as a major influence on the selection of employees in graduate recruitment, here in the UK. Please enter here to view a pdf copy of the Award's Value of the Award to Employers.
|
