Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme at St Mary's
For the first time in our history, St Mary’s Catholic High School has been accredited to run the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DoE) Award Scheme. Whereas many of our students have achieved the award over the years, this has always been done through outside youth organisations, such as the scouts, guides, police cadets, etc.
The DoE Award Scheme, founded in 1954, enables young people aged 14 to 24 to achieve Gold, Silver or Bronze awards, after completing four sections of increasing complexity - Volunteering, Physical, Skills and Expedition.
The scheme helps young people build life-long belief in themselves, supporting them to take on their own challenges, follow their passions, and discover talents they never knew they had. It is highly valued by employers, and for those applying to further and higher education.
The DoE Award Scheme compliments our school’s core values of WELCOME, HARD WORK and SERVICE, which helps to explain why we have had a positive response to it by our students. Year 9 student, Raverick, who has already embarked on the skills and physical elements, explains that “without the DoE scheme I probably wouldn’t be getting involved in so many activities. It’s proved to be a real motivation for me.” Feranmi, also in Year 9, described the scheme as important, as “it makes you think about others. We are thinking about what we will do for the volunteering section. It shows that service can be personally rewarding and fun.”