At Wren Academies Trust we are excited to be offering our Year 12 students the opportunity to complete their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.
At both Wren Academy Finchley and Enfield there has been a long history of engagement in the Award at both Bronze and Silver. Each year just under 500 students take part in the programme with Wren Academy Enfield being recognised by the Department for Education for having the highest number of participants across all London secondary schools.
Like the lower award levels, the Gold Award consists of a Physical, Skill, Volunteering and Expedition section. The expedition takes place for four days / three nights in mountainous areas, such as Snowdonia or the Lake District, and includes a night of wild camping. This camping requires students to be self-sufficient in an area without access to sanitary and cooking facilities. Though different to many young 
people’s prior knowledge of camping, it is an exhilarating one which allows them the opportunity to experience views and surroundings many others do not. Of further excitement is the prospect of students across the trust coming together to complete the expedition award.
The Gold Award also has an additional section in which students complete a Residential for five days / four nights. This is an opportunity for students to spend time away from home, volunteering for a cause and residing in a communal setting, getting to work with people they have not met before. This combined with the other sections, develops a variety of skills which will be invaluable to students as they go onto further study or the workplace. Of most importance are the memories and experiences which they will look back on fondly in the years ahead.
In my role as Gold Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator for the Trust, I am looking forward to replicating our success at the challenging Gold level with as many students participating as possible. My extensive experience in a variety of DofE roles and my expertise in mountainous environments, will place our students in the best position to be supported in completing the Award, so they can benefit from the character building experience.
If your child is interested in completing the award, please see the link to the presentation which outlines the offer of Gold DofE at Wren Academy, or alternatively you can email me at:
