The Dorset Studio School offers the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award to students in year 9 and 10.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was recently voted by the United learning Trust, a consortium of major employers, as the extra-curricular award that they see as most important for potential applicants to have attained at school.

The award requires those taking part to complete 4 sections:

• Skill (learning a new skill)
• Physical (participating in a physical activity for three months)
• volunteering (being involved in an activity that benefits others for three months)
• Expedition (completing a training and assessed 2 day hike with an overnight camp)

The Skill, Physical and Volunteer sections must be completed roughly once a week, with two of these sections to be completed over three months and one over six months. Students will be assisted in their selection of appropriate activities and monitored by teachers throughout the delivery of the award programme. Interest in the Award is always very high, consequently we ask that students will need to be committed and dedicated to the programme. Completion of these sections will primarily be the responsibility of the students taking part and will need to dedicate some of their own time out of school.
Students will take part in a training walk, a practice expedition and an assessed expedition (this will include some unsupervised walking). Completion of the award requires commitment from participants not only to the activities but also to the on-going training, therefore all students taking part will be asked to attend some scheduled extra-curricular sessions.

The Dorset Studio School’s Duke of Edinburgh Programme creates a fun, informative, active and encouraging learning environment which will stretch, challenge and equip those taking part, allowing them to gain valuable skills contributing to students’ employability.