The Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) Scheme, which HRH Prince Philip initiated in 1956 has enriched the lives of millions of young people since its inception. At its core, the ethos of the award scheme is to challenge individuals, gain confidence from trying new things and learn new skills - synonymous with our values at St Gabriel’s. 

The award scheme has operated at St Gabriel's for many years, with pupils from Year 9 - 11  hugely benefiting from the programme. Looking through the archives we discover in ­­­2006, Year 11, pupils passed the St John Ambulance Senior Life Saver Course, as part of their DofE Bronze Award.  The group took part in an 8-week first aid programme, that  included learning to resuscitate; helping with confidence in emergency situations meant valuable skills were gained.

In 2016, Year 10, students took part in an expedition which saw them walk over 24km around West Ilsley, watched by a trained assessor. They camped over-night, cooked their own food before setting off again very early the next day. 

In the summer term of 2018, pupils completed their expedition over two evenings in the local area walking over 25km with laden rucksacks, they pitched their own tents and kept the steps going the next day Read More.   A year later in 2019, 29 Year 10 pupils had perfect weather conditions for their expeditions, which saw 5 teams walk from the Chase in Wootton Hill to Linkenholt, near Faccombe, cooking their supper on Trangia stoves before camping overnight Read More.  

Again in the Summer Term of 2019, Year 9 pupils participated with an overnight camp in the school grounds and their long distance walk started at Sandleford Priory View Gallery. 

There have been so many expeditions over the years and it is important to recognise the huge contribution the staff and team involved in supporting our pupils.  The DofE Award scheme has not only ensured our pupils gain so many skills: physical, team-building, organisational and much more, they had some fun along the way and it had a positive impact on their journey of self-discovery and development in life.  View Gallery

The DofE offical website are capturing memories from participants who completed the DofE Awards.  To contribute visit: https://www.dofe.org/memories/

We look forward to future expeditions for our Senior School pupils to continue to benefit from this programme.