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: options planned for future years All participants have until their 25th birthday to complete the award, but they do need to complete their award, and have it approved by the DofE, before progressing onto the next level 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 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 Launch Meeting: Tuesday 22 October 12 x Focus Meetings: 5 in Autumn Term 5 in Spring Term 2 in Summer Term 3 x Expedition Briefing Sessions: the week prior to each expedition Expedition Presentation Session: soon after the Qualifying Expedition Formal meeting takes about half an hour with time at the end for individual questions

Evening Meetings Training Expedition Planning Session: Tuesday 21 January Practice Expedition Planning Session: Tuesday 18 March Qualifying Expedition Planning Session: Tuesday 20 May These are all 2-hour after-school sessions They are all compulsory: any participants who miss any sessions will need to arrange to complete them at a later date

Expedition Dates Training Expedition: Saturday 15 to Sunday 16 March Practice Expedition: Saturday 17 to Sunday 18 May Qualifying Expedition: Saturday 12 to Sunday 13 July These expeditions will all take place at different locations in the Chiltern Hills They all involve carrying full expedition equipment and undertaking an overnight camp 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

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 6 weeks of evidence in total Application deadline: end of autumn term Successful applicants will do their Expedition Section in 2014 Unsuccessful participants can either apply to do their Expedition Section in 2015 or apply for the alternative expedition programme later in 2014

Alternative Expedition Programme For any participants who are unable to attend all of the expedition dates, there is an alternative expedition programme: Training Expedition: Saturday 21 to Sunday 22 June Practice Expedition: Saturday 13 to Sunday 14 September Qualifying Expedition: Saturday 18 to Sunday 19 October These expeditions are organised by Zest for Adventure – they are not school visits and will not have any school staff attending They will, however, follow the same operating procedures, with the same staffing ratios, and will cost exactly the same Students from other schools are likely to be participating

Costs Award Programme: Enrolment Fees: £ – payable on enrolment. Non- refundable Expedition Programme: Expedition Fees: £ in total – payable prior to the spring half-term holiday. 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 Programme: Numbers not limited in any way If numbers get too large to manage all at the same time, participants will be offered alternative Focus Meetings to attend Expedition Programme: Numbers planned to be limited to 6 teams of 7 participants per team If numbers exceed this, participants will be offered places on the alternative 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 Meetings: Tuesdays 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 Programme of Events (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 £ enrolment fee by ParentPay Attend the Launch Meeting at 13:35 on Tuesday 22 October in S1

Contact For further information, please contact the school’s DofE Co-ordinator, David Goss, on: Phone: Mobile: