Duke of Edinburgh - LWA

Leeds West Academy are delighted to have secured a FREE place for every student in Year 9 on The Duke of Edinburgh Award!

Leeds West Academy are delighted to say that it is now a registered centre for the Duke of Edinburgh Award and are proud to have secured a free place for every Year 9 student! In spring term 202, we will be launching the award and ensuring that all Year 9 students have the opportunity to start working towards their Bronze Award this year.

What is The Duke of Edinburgh Award?

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is an internationally recognised award that provides students opportunities to develop their skills and qualities. All students are given time to develop their sense of identity and responsibility which in turn improves their confidence and self-belief. They are also encouraged to build on their leadership skills and understand how to problem solve and work as a team. This in turn enhances their level of independence, empowering students to become a positive role model for the future.

How does it work?

Students enroll onto The Duke of Edinburgh Award through LWA and receive an introductory pack that will guide you through the process of completing tasks and recording evidence. Students can achieve over time their Bronze, Silver and Gold Award. To enroll you will require a log-in which you will receive via email. Support to help you set up your eDofE account can be found by clicking here.

Starting with the Bronze Award you will spend at least three months engaging in the following activities:

Volunteering in your community
Learning a new skill or pursuing a new hobby
Taking part in physical recreation

Students Own your DofE and create your own personal programme of activities: helping others, pushing yourself physically, gaining skills and in the future months, going on a residential/expedition.

Parents and Carers Young people are responsible for creating and doing their own DofE programmes, but parents and carers can play an important role in supporting them. If you are new to DofE, check out the basic info and FAQs on the DofE website.

Duke of Edinburgh Award Spring Term 2020

Due to the current climate, you be unable to complete your tasks and activities by completing outdoor activities normally available to you. However, to ensure that all students can fulfill their Bronze Award, Duke of Edinburgh have given lots of ideas to help support you in completing the award at home. Please see the ideas below:

Volunteering	Physical	Skill
Helping others at home	PE with Joe Wicks	English with David Walliams
Missing Maps	Trampolining	Music Lessons with Myleene Class
Keeping in touch with vulnerable neighbours	Jogging (e.g. Strava)	DuoLingo
Raising cause awareness	Army Fit	First Aid - St John’s
Leonard Cheshire	Cycling	iDEA online
Volunteer for BeMyEyes	Home workouts – Search YouTube e.g. 10 min workout each day	Playing an instrument
Community Care	Wii Fit	Vlogging
Help with providing meals for the community	Online Zumba lessons	DIY
Become an age UK digital buddy	Yoga (Youtube – Yoga with Adrian)	Tabletop Gaming / Board Games / Gaming
Loving Hands	Fitness challenges (e.g. 100 press up challenge, plank challenge, step challenge)	Painting
Volunteer to translate	Learn a martial art	Learn sign language
Gardening and the Environment	Walking	Reading and book reviews
Knitting / Crochet hats for premature born babies	Dance with Oti Mabuse	Science and Nature with Maddie Moate and Gregg
Peer Education	Sport skills e.g. keepy uppy, dribbling, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball skills…	Maths with Carol Vorderman (mathsfactor.com)
Animal Welfare	Skipping	Cooking, Baking or Food Tech with Jamie Oliver
Communication - Teaching and using social media positively to contact your vulnerable friends and family. Writing letters	Table Tennis	Performing Arts – Singing, Drama, Puppetry, Circus Skills
Sports Leadership – Design and run sports classes (online or for your family)	Improve fitness - doing many difference activities	Science and Technology, STEM

Bronze Award Programme

All students in Year 9 will be invited to enroll for their Bronze Award at the start of this term. Please see key dates for this programme below:

April 6^th	Enrolment opens, students receive their log-in details, information for students will be available through the ‘Class Charts’ App.
April 13^th	All information now available for all students on electronic system. A rolling program of ideas and activities available on a weekly basis.
April 24^th	Enrolment deadline – all students to be enrolled and begin working on their completing their skills
April 20^th	Evidence of sessions recorded on eDofE by staff to commence assessment
June 15^th	All sessions for the volunteering, physical and skill sections to be completed and recorded on eDofE by students
June 22^nd	Support plans will be available for students and parents on how to start their Expedition training
September 10^th	Expedition plans - TBA

LWA Staff Quotes

Here at Leeds West Academy, staff are super excited about the launch of The Duke of Edinburgh Award and are keen to be involved and supporting of the students -

‘DofE is your time to stand out from the crowd on your CV and develop life skills. You will have an experience like no other, you will learn survival skills, improve your physical skills, give something back to the community. It's your time to work on your independence skills, explore and work as a team. My favourite part though is that you get to make life long friends and have an adventure at the same time. Not to mention the expedition where you get to cook on a Trangia and camp. It's lots of fun so get involved.’ Mrs Harrison

‘For me, the Duke of Edinburgh’s award really built my confidence. The different sections were all challenging and rewarding in their own way, but the real highlight was the expedition. To be expected to travel through beautiful scenery, be completely self-sufficient, navigate, cook, camp and work as a team was an awesome experience for a 14 year old. After progressing all the way to Gold award standard, travelling to St James Palace in London to receive my award from the Duke of Edinburgh himself was the culmination of years of enjoyable, rewarding hard work.’ Mr Stalford

Useful Links

More information can be found on the Duke of Edinburgh official website - www.dofe.org