Duke of Edinburgh Award

Duke of Edinburgh Accolade

Mr Paul Griffiths, Regional Manager of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, told pupils and staff at Bolton School: “You are officially the largest independent school provider of pupils achieving the Duke of Edinburgh Award in the North-West of England and in the top 10 schools in the whole of the North; an area where 42,000 children take part in the Award.” Mr Griffiths was the Guest of Honour at the School’s Duke of Edinburgh Award Ceremony which saw 144 girls, including the whole of Year 9, and 70 boys achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards. Mr Griffiths had also calculated that between them the 214 pupils would have contributed at least 4,000 hours of voluntary work to the local community. He continued: “The Duke of Edinburgh Award is loved by employers and universities. It helps children develop new skills, particularly team-working and communication skills, it develops problem-solving faculties and it extends pupils beyond the classroom and imbues in them the desire to never give in. Anyone who can work their way through the awards from Bronze to Gold can do anything!” Our Headmistress told the audience: “The Duke of Edinburgh Award chimes with the same values that we uphold at Bolton School. A love of the outdoors, a willingness to learn new skills and the importance of giving something back to the community.”

Six students offered their own perspectives on what they had got out of the Award. They had a diverse range of stories to tell including learning new languages, working in a charity shop on a Saturday morning, bouldering at Fontainebleau and learning to play tennis. All told of how the Award had increased their confidence, built their team-working skills and given them lifelong memories. The presentation evening, held in the Girls’ Division Great Hall, was attended by all the girls and boys who had taken part in the Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards in the last year. All the pupils were invited on stage to collect their certificate by Mr Griffiths. Typically, pupils take the Bronze Award during Years 9 and 10, the Silver Award in Year 11 and the Gold Award in the Sixth Form.