1. Aylesbury Grammar School The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award   Bronze Award Programme: 2016-2017 Year 9

2. 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

3. Levels of the Award
At Aylesbury Grammar School we are offering the following:
Bronze Award: Years 9 and 10 (expeditions only in 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

4. 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

5. 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:

13. 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

14. 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 Verifier for final approval
DofE Verifier checks award and either approves it or requests additional information or evidence
When DofE Verifier has approved award, participant receives automatic confirming this from DofE
Certificate and badge are presented by the school

15. Lunchtime Sessions 2016-2017 Launch Meeting: Monday 10 October 2016
5 x Award Sessions: 4 in autumn term 2016
1 at start of spring term 2017
4 x Review Sessions: 2 in spring term 2017
2 in summer term 2017
Formal session takes about half an hour with time at the end for individual questions

16. Lunchtime Sessions
Expedition Preparation Session: end of autumn term 2017
3 x Expedition Briefing Sessions: the week prior to each expedition in 2018
Formal session takes about half an hour with time at the end for individual questions

17. After-school Sessions 2018
Expedition Planning Session: start of spring term 2018
This session lasts for a full 2 hours straight after school
Expedition Presentation Session: 2 weeks after Qualifying Expedition in 2018
This session lasts for 1½ hours straight after school

18. 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

19. Expedition Programme Dates
The school will be offering a choice of 2 Expedition Programmes in 2018:
Expedition Programme 1: spring and summer terms
Expedition Programme 2: spring and summer 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 2018

20. Applying for Expeditions
Expeditions limited to participants who have made good progress with the Volunteering, Physical and Skills Sections Requirements: submitted all programme planners and fully completed two sections Application and payment deadline: end of first week of spring term 2018 Applications will start at autumn half-term holiday 2017 and places will be allocated in the order applications are received Applicants who don’t apply in time for their preferred expedition programme will be offered a place on the other one

21. Costs
Award Scheme:
Award Scheme Fee: £90.00 – payable in full prior to autumn half-term holiday Non-refundable
Expedition Programme:
Expedition Programme Fee: £ in total – payable in full by the end of first week of spring term Non-refundable after this date
Equipment Hire: typically £22.80 per expedition (depending on what you need) – hired from Adventure Learning Foundation’s DofE equipment store at Green Park. Refundable deposit required
Expedition Travel, Food and Fuel

22. 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
Places will be allocated in the order applications are received
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

23. Communication Communication with participants is by:
Lunchtime and After-school Sessions
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 autumn half-term holiday 2016

24. 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
Attend the Launch Meeting at 13:45 on Monday 10 October in the Lecture Theatre

25. 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

26. 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: