Taking part in and completing all three levels of the Duke of Edinburgh’s award whilst at Secondary school was perhaps one of my greatest achievements. It meant I experienced so many new activities along the way such as learning sign language and reading to elderly sight impaired people. You are taught how to be resilient when it gets tough (and it certainly did completing gold expeditions on Dartmoor).
One of the first things I did after qualifying as a teacher was to help run the DofE award in my school. This is the legacy the DofE award installed in me - sharing and helping young people to push themselves and see their immense pride in completing it. As a DofE Supervisor I have experienced the highs and lows through the eyes of hundreds of teenagers. I have worked with incredible people and have built strong friendships through helping run the award. When at the end of it all (broken tents, wet sleeping bags and blistered feet) you ask the students how they feel - the overwhelming majority say “proud” of themselves.