Aylesbury Grammar School The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Bronze Award Programme:

Format of Meeting Information about the DofE Award nationally Demonstration of the DofE website Information about the DofE Scheme at the school General questions Individual questions – after the meeting

Levels of the Award At Aylesbury Grammar School we are offering the following: Bronze Award: Year 10 Silver Award: Years 11 and 12 Gold Award: Years 12 and 13 All participants have until their 25th birthday to complete the award Once started with DofE, participants can complete it at another centre: they just need to arrange to transfer their account

Sections Volunteering: 3 months Physical: 3 months Skills: 3 months Plus an extra 3 months for any one of these – participant’s choice which one Participation every week, averaging 1 hour per week All activities must be unpaid and extra-curricular Expedition: 2-day Training Expedition, then a 2-day Practice Expedition, then a 2-day Qualifying Expedition Total time commitment: average of 200 hours to successfully complete the award

Completing the Award For each section of the award, participants need to: Set objectives and choose a qualified assessor Submit programme planners and get them approved Submit evidence and personal comments at the end of each section Get signed off by their assessor and submit assessor’s report Submit entire section and get it approved Full information is on the DofE website:

Recording Progress Means of recording progress: eDofE Website: Text entry Activity logs Photographs Video or audio files Activity programmes Team lists Course syllabuses Documents Certificates Letters of thanks Only evidence submitted onto the eDofE website can be accredited

Approval of Awards The procedure for approving awards is: Participant uploads and submits evidence each week DofE Co-ordinator checks and either approves or queries evidence (giving reasons) When section is complete, participant submits section DofE Co-ordinator checks and either approves or rejects section (giving reasons) When DofE Co-ordinator has approved all four sections (Volunteering, Physical, Skills and Expedition), award is automatically sent to DofE for verification DofE check award and either approve it or request additional information or evidence When DofE have verified award, participant receives confirming this from DofE Certificate and badge are posted to school for presentation

Lunchtime Meetings 6 x Focus Meetings: 5 in Autumn Term 1 in Spring Term Expedition Preparation Session: end of the Autumn Term 3 x Expedition Briefing Sessions: the week prior to each expedition Expedition Presentation Session: 2 weeks after the Qualifying Expedition Formal meeting takes about half an hour with time at the end for individual questions

After-school Meeting Expedition Planning Session: start of the Spring Term This meeting lasts for a full 2 hours straight after school

Expedition Section The Expedition Programme comprises: Training Expedition: 2 days Practice Expedition: 2 days Qualifying Expedition: 2 days They all involve carrying full expedition equipment and undertaking an overnight camp Expeditions will all take place at different locations in the Chiltern Hills They are all compulsory: any participants who miss any expeditions will need to arrange to complete them at a later date or with another approved expedition provider

Expedition Programme Dates The school will be offering a choice of 2 Expedition Programmes: Expedition Programme 1: Spring and Summer Terms Expedition Programme 2: Summer and Autumn Terms This is to give participants a choice of expedition dates to allow for other commitments It is also because we anticipate numbers of applicants being too great to all be on expedition together Participants for each Expedition Programme will be selected in January

Expedition Programme 1 Training Expedition: Saturday 5 to Sunday 6 March Practice Expedition: Saturday 23 to Sunday 24 April Qualifying Expedition: Saturday 18 to Sunday 19 June Expedition Programme 2 Training Expedition: Saturday 21 to Sunday 22 May Practice Expedition: Saturday 16 to Sunday 17 July Qualifying Expedition: Saturday 8 to Sunday 9 October We co-operate with other local schools to try to help each other out if any students have to miss a scheduled expedition for some reason – a few individual students from other schools may be participating

Applying for Expeditions Expeditions limited to participants who have made good progress with the Volunteering, Physical and Skills Sections Requirements: submitted all programme planners plus 8 weeks of evidence in total Application and payment deadline: end of first week of spring term Successful applicants will get priority in choosing which Expedition Programme they wish to attend Unsuccessful participants will be allocated to Expedition Programme 2 to give them the opportunity to upload the required amount of evidence

Costs Award Scheme: Award Scheme Fee: £90.00 – payable in full prior to the autumn half- term holiday. Non-refundable Expedition Programme: Expedition Programme Fee: £ in total – payable in full by the end of the first week of the spring term. Non- refundable Equipment Hire: typically £23.50 per expedition (depending on what you need) – hired from Buckinghamshire County Council’s DofE equipment store at Green Park. Refundable deposit required Expedition Travel, Food and Fuel

Participant Numbers Award Scheme: Numbers not planned to be limited in any way Expedition Programmes: Numbers on each expedition programme will be limited to 8 teams of 7 participants per team If numbers exceed this, participants will be offered places on the other expedition programme Ideally, participants can agree amongst themselves who does which expedition programme Failing this, priority on expeditions will be given to participants who have made most progress with submitting evidence onto the eDofE website

Communication Communication with participants is by: Lunchtime and After-School Meetings Messages: to participants School Website: The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award section In addition, key information, particularly regarding expedition arrangements, will be ed to parents We need to be kept informed of any changes to addresses Application deadline: prior to the autumn half-term holiday

What Next? Read the Launch Letter, Scheme Information and Calendar (available on the school website) Complete the Enrolment Form (available on the school website) and hand in to the School Office Make payment of the £90.00 Award Scheme Fee by ParentPay ParentPay Attend the first Focus Meeting at 13:45 on Tuesday 15 September

How Parents Can Help Read through this Presentation, the Launch Letter, Scheme Information and Calendar Put all dates in diary Read through regular meeting notes Check eDofE website account regularly Ensure any equipment is ordered on time

Contact For information about the Aylesbury Grammar School DofE Award Scheme, please contact the school’s DofE Co-ordinator: Alison Richards Telephone: Mobile: For information about the Aylesbury Grammar School DofE Expedition Programme, please contact the school’s DofE Expedition Provider: David Goss Telephone: Mobile: