Our Community

D of E Coordinator:

Miss C Booth

 

 

The Duke of Edinburgh’s (D of E) Award is the world’s leading youth achievement award, giving millions of 14 to 24 year olds the opportunity to be the very best they can be.

The D of E is a balanced programme of activities that develops young people’s life skills and social interaction. It is way of encouraging young people to live life as an adventure.

There are three Award levels:

• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold

At Chelmer Valley High School the Bronze Award is well established and is undertaken in Year 10. The Silver Award is currently being organised for Year 11 students.

To complete the Award, participants must undertake four sections:

• Volunteering - helping someone, your community or the environment.
• Physical - becoming fitter through sport, dance or fitness activities.
• Skills - developing existing talents or trying something new.
• Expedition - planning, training for and completing an adventurous journey.

The D of E is a challenging yet rewarding programme. It allows young people to develop their confidence and social skills, set personal goals, be recognised by universities and employers and develop a sense of adventure.

Event	Date	Location
Preparation	After school sessions TBC	CVHS
Training Day	Saturday 15th March 2025	CVHS
Practice expedition	Saturday 10th May to Sunday 11th May 2025	Thorrington Scout Camp and surrounding area
Qualifying expedition	Saturday 21st June to Sunday 22nd June 2025	Skreens Park Activity Centre and surrounding area

If you have any D of E related questions at any point please do not hesitate to contact Miss Booth via the school or email at cbooth@chelmer.essex.sch.uk.

Useful links:

• The D of E website
• Official D of E kit list
• D of E programme idea

Follow @CVHS_DofE on X for all the latest updates

Established in 1999, The Jack Petchey Foundation gives grants to programmes and projects that benefit young people aged 11-25.

The Foundation exists to raise the aspirations of young people, to help them take advantage of opportunities and play a full part in society.

Staff and students are nominated for their awards by members of staff and students and the winners of both awards are selected by the student voice committee.  Winners of the Jack Petchey award receive £250 to spend on improving the school experience.  How this money is spent is chosen by the winner.

Leader Award

The Leader Award is given to a member of staff for their tremendous help and assistance provided to the students, they can then apply for a £500 grant for the school. These grants in the past have provided gymnasium equipment, hurdles, a telescope and drama props.  They have also enabled students to go on school visits to the Science museum and ice skating.

The World Challenge Expedition is run on a two-yearly cycle and is available to students from Years 10 to 12. The aim of the project is to visit a less developed country and to run an expedition where they must manage a project phase helping a local school, orphanage or other community project.

The students are expected to book everything, cook meals and order all transport.  To complete the 2 years of fundraising and preparation is a fantastic achievement and the trip provides valuable experience in life skills for the students.  In 2024 students visited Vietnam.