Duke of Edinburgh
The Programme was launched in Mauritius in 1966 by two volunteers Mary Gold Humpries and Trevor Smith. In 1978, a Gold Award Holders’ Association was founded and Regional Award Committees were set up to extend the programme’s reach in all districts including Rodrigues.
Northfields students have been participating in the Duke of Edinburgh programme as an integral part of their learning and development since the school’s earliest years.
The programme is operated through the National Award Committee and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Philosophy
The Award is about individual challenge as well as perseverance and determination. With guidance from their Award Leader, Assessor or other Award volunteers, each young person should be encouraged to examine themselves, their interests, abilities and ambitions, then set themselves challenges in four different sections of the Award.
Rationale: In an increasingly challenging world, it is imperative to develop other skills other than the academics. The DoE Award is highly regarded by Sixth Form Colleges, Universities and future employers. It provides the basis for discipline; a balanced mind and emotional stability.
The Award Programme
At Northfields, we cover the BRONZE Award predominantly in Year 10 with the Adventurous Journey in Year 11.
Silver is covered in Year 12 and those wishing to pursue the Gold Award complete this in Year 13.
The Bronze Award can be completed within 6 months. Students are encouraged to enrol in the award programme via the Online Record Book (ORB). This is an online facility for students to register and log the hours which have been completed. Students must complete the following sections in agreement with the assessor who will be the adult responsible for that section.
N.B.: Assessors cannot be family members.
Upon completion of all of the hours and the adventurous journey, an award ceremony takes place at Northfields to celebrate the achievements of the young people. A certificate and a badge is awarded to all those who are successful. This is done in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation.
NB: The hours of Service/Skill and Physical Recreation vary for the Silver and Gold Awards.
More information is available through our DoE Coordinator.
Service
This is to develop and encourage a sense of cooperation and community spirit. An example could be for a student to set up a reading club for younger students.
Skills
This is to encourage the development of interests and practical skills. Students are expected to learn a new skill so as to take on a new challenge, for example, taking on cookery lessons or learning archery.
Physical Recreation
This aspect of the DoE lays emphasis on encouraging participation in physical recreation and improvement in physical fitness and performance. An example could be swimming, basketball or cycling.
All sections of the DoE must be completed with 1hour of each section per week. This must be logged onto the ORB with a short description and picture (optional). This is followed with an Adventurous Journey to encourage the spirit of adventure and discovery as the final outcome.
Once all hours have been completed, the student must send the link to their assessor who will write a report and confirm the completion of the hours. This is then finally approved by the Award Leader.
It is important to note that all sections must be completed independently, outside of school hours. The hours are as follows:
Service: 13 hours
Skill: 13 hours
Physical recreation: 13 hours
An additional 13 hours must be completed in ONE of the above. A student may decide that they would like to continue with learning their skill which is cookery and therefore undertakes and additional of 13 hours. In total a student would then have completed 26 hours of skill as in the example below:
Service: 13 hours
Skill (cookery): 26 hours
Physical recreation: 13 hours
Upon completion of all of the hours and the adventurous journey, an award ceremony takes place at Northfields to celebrate the achievements of the young people. A certificate and a badge is awarded to all those who are successful.