The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Time is the longest distance between two places.
– Tennessee Williams

The last term has flown past (along with the holidays), and we are left with seven weeks until it’s all over. The departure of Year 12 has set off a vast game of musical chairs as students jockey for coveted seating areas at recess and lunch and every group in the school starts thinking about the year they will be graduating into, moving into new classrooms, sports teams, choirs, bands and Leadership positions.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award program is also experiencing transitions as many participants are preparing to advance to the next level of the Award. Bronze students are setting their sights on Silver, while Silver completers are gearing up for the challenge of Gold. Year 11 and 12 Gold completers who have finished their Adventurous Journeys are now in “logging” mode, finalising activities and chasing up Assessor reports. Year 8 students can anticipate joining this enriching program following their assessment period, where they will learn about its benefits during a Year Meeting.

The past term saw great success, with four Bronze and one Silver Adventurous Journey completed during the school term. During the holidays, we experimented with a new “Combo” Gold format, where candidates completed six consecutive days of bushwalking rather than two separate four-day trips.  There are pros and cons – but at least initially our candidates seem to have a positive reaction. Perhaps six straight days of bad weather would illicit different opinions. We also continued to break new ground by running our third inclusive “walk and roll” expeditions, including a student completing the Adventurous Journey by wheelchair. This format allows the team to journey together when possible, split into groups for different terrain types, then reunite for camping – fostering strong camaraderie. Congratulations to all our wonderful students, you’re always a delight to be with in the outdoors, and we are rewarded by your achievements.

Spring too will soon be but a memory, as the sun climbs and bakes us earlier and longer through the day. We have two remaining Silver Adventurous Journeys in November, so we’re looking forward to some warmth, waterfalls and epic wandering in the Blue Mountains.

A small request to all our students that hiked this year – we are declaring a moratorium for any camping equipment that you may have borrowed and not yet returned – please just drop it off in the upstairs enclave outside the PDHPE/Sport Department, so that it may be used and enjoyed by your friends and peers this year and next.

Looking forward to this last term of 2024.

Joanne Bower (Award Leader)
Doric Swain (Expedition Supervisor)