Intrepid King’s Ely students achieve Gold DofE Award status

Four King’s Ely Sixth Form students are celebrating completing their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award.

Aeyesha Cundy, John-Paul Gilbey, Lucy Darby and Samuel Wege (left to right above) each undertook an extensive 12-month programme of volunteering, physical and skill activities, and completed a four-day expedition in the Brecon Beacons in South Wales in order to achieve their Gold DofE Award status.

All four students completed their Bronze and Silver DofE Awards before taking on their Gold. They received their badges during a special school assembly just before the end of the Lent term, and will be attending Buckingham Palace for another presentation later in the year.

The DofE Award was created in 1956 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to help develop young people’s work ethic and life skills. King’s Ely offers students the chance to undertake their DofE Award at all three levels, and all of the school’s clubs are run in line with national schemes, giving pupils a strong position to go forward for their National Governing Bodies (NGB) Leadership Awards.

At King’s Ely, the DofE Award offering is part of the school’s Ely Scheme, which aims to build important life skills that cannot always be taught in the classroom. While most independent schools have an outdoor pursuits programme, the Ely Scheme is both unique and central to the whole King’s Ely experience, as young people are given tangible opportunities to push themselves to achieve beyond anything they ever thought possible.

The aim is to develop each individual student through outdoor education and adventurous activity, concentrating on eight major elements: personal skills; self-confidence; teamwork; leadership skills; social and environmental awareness; problem solving; ability to cope with difficult situations and healthy respect for nature and the outdoors.

To discover more about opportunities at King’s Ely, please visit www.kingsely.org.