Brentwood School - Brentwoodian 2020

89 Duke of Edinburgh ’ s Award This year saw many changes for the Bronze DofE Award. Due to the massive interest we have seen year-on-year to participate, the decision was made to move training from after school to Friday afternoon to better accommodate training. Given this new option, the vast majority of the year group signed up, giving us the biggest cohort ever seen at Brentwood School. A successful first term of training and a fantastically organised Campcraft and Navigation day meant groups were well prepared to undertake their Practice and Assessed expeditions later in the academic year. As we started our final preparations for the first Practice expedition, the world was turned upside down by the Covid19 pandemic. Because of this, expeditions were cancelled and training moved online. Despite the obvious challenges this posed, the DofE participants showed great resilience, completing a number of online challenges such as the ‘one pot cooking challenge’ and the ‘Expedition Survival Guide’. Adnan and Salman Yaqub particularly impressed us with their amazing entries! Jacob Sparks also submitted a fantastic one pot cooking challenge entry. Silver DofE Students completed a series of training activities throughout the course of the year. The students continued with this training throughout the remote learning period where they completed various quizzes and tasks to build their knowledge on bag packing and foot care, navigation and first aid training. Students also worked well remotely with their groups using the virtual mapping tool and route cards on the EdofE website. Many students also practised their campcraft skills by building shelters and putting up tents, as well as experimenting with their one pot meals they could use on expeditions. William Sedgley’s detailed shelter design was particularly good! Students also continued to complete their Physical, Skill and Volunteering sections at home. One exceptional example was a series of recipes created by Miles King titled ‘classic family meals’ for his Skill section. The students will complete their Practice and Assessed expedition this year following the new guidance from DofE to complete their Silver award. By Miss Preston and Dr Crocker As we approached the end of the academic year, there were worries that groups would not get the chance to complete their DofE Award. However thanks to the fantastic work from the DofE Staff and the efforts made by Brentwood School, in September and October groups were once again out and walking, working towards their ultimate goal. We are extremely proud of this year’s cohort and the great work they put in to achieving this Award. More than ever this year the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a beacon of resilience, commitment, and teamwork. By Miss Gellard