DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award

At BIS Abu Dhabi, students from Year 9 and above have the opportunity to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, the world’s leading youth achievement award. The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award equips our students for life, by creating opportunities for them to develop skills, get physically active, give service and experience adventure. The award plays a critical role in students’ development outside the classroom. It also allows students’ achievements to be recognised worldwide, giving them an international accreditation of their experiences.

The Adventurous Journey element, which makes up 25% of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, is designed to help students become more self-sufficient, but also incorporates elements of team-building through journey planning and navigational skills. The award is split into Bronze, Silver and Gold categories, with the Bronze students spending two days and one night away, the Silver students spending three days and two nights away, and the Gold students spending four days and three nights away.

Throughout Term 2, more than 140 students from Year 9 and above participated in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze and Silver Awards. As part of their adventurous journey, in January and February students journeyed through the deserts of South Khatim and Fossil Rock. Starting out early in the morning, the students set off in their teams and made their way across the varied and challenging terrain, not only testing them physically, but also giving them the opportunity to put their navigational and decision-making skills to the test. They had to arrive at various checkpoints throughout the day, with the last checkpoint being the overnight camp. Not done for the day, the students then had to set up their camp, which included putting their tent up, cooking their own nutritious meal and looking after the tidiness of their camp and making sure they were rested, ready for the second day of hiking. Mirroring the first day, the aim for the students on day 2 was to make it through the checkpoints to the end of the journey.

Each day, the students walked for a minimum of 6 hours whilst also carrying out their “journey purpose”, which was selected by each individual and included activities such as making a music video, and a documentary detailing the flora and fauna they had seen on their travels. All this was then collated and presented to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award leaders at school. A real sense of achievement was felt by the students upon this accomplishment.