Wakatipu High School students in Year 10 and above have the opportunity to enrol for The Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE). Students in Year 10 can enroll for the Bronze Award, and can continue to the Silver Award in following years. Why Duke of Edinburgh? The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is a voluntary, non-competitive programme of activities for anyone aged 14-24. As a non-formal education framework, the Award can play a vital role in providing opportunities for young people to develop essential life skills, increase their employability and foster their creativity and innovation.
Duke of Edinburgh Sections Duke of Edinburgh students have to take part in four different activities; the Expedition, Volunteering, Skill and Physical. Gold Award students also have to participate in a five-day residential. Apart from the expedition, all activities should be organised independently by the students, who have to log their activities, upload any evidence, and then ask someone (not a parent) to write an Assessor Report for them.
The DofE website www.dofe.org has a lot of useful information about the types of activities students can count towards their award, and forms. See the summary of ideas produced by the DofE below. Please bear in mind the following:
Volunteering must be for a not-for-profit organisation (the only exception to this is helping in a care home).
Volunteering does not include helping family members.
Dance/fitness/sport are all considered to be physical activities and not a skill.
Each section needs an Assessor. Parents cannot be Assessors.
Enrolments are processed within at the start of Term 1 (end of February) of each year.
