Lesley Fielding
Well I did up to Silver in 1963 in Sheffield we then moved house again and so didn't go on to gold.
When I had my children in 1984 and 87 I knew the value of the award and so delighted when their secondary school decided to start the award. Alistair was a direct entry into Gold starting at 16. He began with a trip on the tall ships race going from Antwerp and up the coast of Norway to just into the Arctic Circle. It was the making of him. He enjoyed every minute from being abandon by his parents at the port of Hull to taking helm of the ship to going through the streets of Oslo as a visitor.{ where their water pistols were full of beer .That year the tall ships was sponsors by a brewery. .The young people on board ranged from 16 to 24 plus a few D of E assessors and adult volunteers who were on there because of their sailing skill trip(.My husband went to meet him at Heathrow early one morning. He aid that you could smell the plane load before they appeared out of customs. You could identify the leaders because they didn't smell so bad ) Alistair had learnt to sail as a 8 yr old so was encouraged to use this as his starting point. He then went of to do his expedition by sailing from Chatham in Kent over to Essex. To prepare for this the 4 young people had to get their qualification in sailing both theory and practical. In fact his practise gold expedition was on a Plymouth boat. This gave him his love of Plymouth water front and big boat sailing. That why he chose Plymouth as his first chose for Uni. (His second was Portsmouth.)
For his skill he learn all about the environment its flora and fauna. He volunteered at at Kent Wildlife for 2 winters maintaining a Site of Special Interest that was an example of chalk down.
In 2004 I attend St James Palace with Alistair . He was at that time a third year student of Plymouth University studying Environmental Construction Surveying.
The duke was very funny at the palace putting everyone at ease.
Well by the time my son complete his gold award I was volunteer with the local D of E centre. I supported the gold group,I assisted them in deciding on what to do for each element. By focusing on their skills and hobbies it was easy to suggest possibilities.
As a teacher of primary school children for 40yrs ending as a SENCO I had many contacts throughout the Medway Towns.I found placements for a girl who wanted to become a primary teacher to work at an after school's club.
I also helped a lad who couldn't find an opportunity for his residential . He went to a canal recovery camp. Another who was a keen cyclist helped with cycling proficiency for his service. He also entered a long distance race ofa week ( like tour de France in Kent. I also helped them to organise their logs so they had a record of their hours signed by the organisation and photographic evidence.
When I had my children in 1984 and 87 I knew the value of the award and so delighted when their secondary school decided to start the award. Alistair was a direct entry into Gold starting at 16. He began with a trip on the tall ships race going from Antwerp and up the coast of Norway to just into the Arctic Circle. It was the making of him. He enjoyed every minute from being abandon by his parents at the port of Hull to taking helm of the ship to going through the streets of Oslo as a visitor.{ where their water pistols were full of beer .That year the tall ships was sponsors by a brewery. .The young people on board ranged from 16 to 24 plus a few D of E assessors and adult volunteers who were on there because of their sailing skill trip(.My husband went to meet him at Heathrow early one morning. He aid that you could smell the plane load before they appeared out of customs. You could identify the leaders because they didn't smell so bad ) Alistair had learnt to sail as a 8 yr old so was encouraged to use this as his starting point. He then went of to do his expedition by sailing from Chatham in Kent over to Essex. To prepare for this the 4 young people had to get their qualification in sailing both theory and practical. In fact his practise gold expedition was on a Plymouth boat. This gave him his love of Plymouth water front and big boat sailing. That why he chose Plymouth as his first chose for Uni. (His second was Portsmouth.)
For his skill he learn all about the environment its flora and fauna. He volunteered at at Kent Wildlife for 2 winters maintaining a Site of Special Interest that was an example of chalk down.
In 2004 I attend St James Palace with Alistair . He was at that time a third year student of Plymouth University studying Environmental Construction Surveying.
The duke was very funny at the palace putting everyone at ease.
Well by the time my son complete his gold award I was volunteer with the local D of E centre. I supported the gold group,I assisted them in deciding on what to do for each element. By focusing on their skills and hobbies it was easy to suggest possibilities.
As a teacher of primary school children for 40yrs ending as a SENCO I had many contacts throughout the Medway Towns.I found placements for a girl who wanted to become a primary teacher to work at an after school's club.
I also helped a lad who couldn't find an opportunity for his residential . He went to a canal recovery camp. Another who was a keen cyclist helped with cycling proficiency for his service. He also entered a long distance race ofa week ( like tour de France in Kent. I also helped them to organise their logs so they had a record of their hours signed by the organisation and photographic evidence.
