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Duke of Edinburgh / Outdoor Education

The DofE is a life-changing adventure. You make it - the DofE is as unique as you are. Millions of young people in the UK have already done their DofE. Now it’s your turn.

At Gravesend Grammar School, we offer opportunities for students to take part in the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. It is a very popular scheme and we strive to accommodate all who want to participate. Participants are required to complete a number of sections: Physical, Skills, Volunteering, Expedition and Residential.

  • Physical section: Take part in whatever sport, dance or fitness activity you would like. Get fitter and have fun along the way!
  • Skills section: Devote yourself to improving your skills in the things you love to do. Discover new passions and develop talents you didn’t know you had.
  • Volunteering section: Take action and make a difference to the causes you care about. Help others and change things for the better.
  • Expedition section: Explore the great outdoors and spend time away from home. Make new friends and create memories that will last a lifetime.
  • Residential section (Gold only): Spend five days and four nights away from home. Share experiences and create new connections.

Participants take ownership of the Physical, Skills, Volunteering and Residential sections. At GGS we provide training for the expeditions, such as route planning, the Countryside Code, tent pitching, navigation and campcraft. Expeditions take place in the Kent countryside (Bronze), Sussex countryside (Silver) and the Peak District and Dartmoor (Gold).

We are proud to work with our partner, Medway Open Award Centre (MOAC), to deliver Gold expeditions for our participants.

For more information please visit

www.dofe.org www.moac.co.uk

Year 9 students have benefited from taking part in GGS Nautical Explorer voyages. Some have even found them life-changing and want to return and sail some more. Working with our partner, The Rona Sailing Project, the aim is to provide opportunities for young people to acquire attributes of a crew onboard a yacht, namely a sense of responsibility, resourcefulness and teamwork which will help them throughout their lives.

Students live on board a 62 to 75 foot yacht for the entire week. They learn how to hoist sails, tacking and gybing, helming, recording logs, reading a chart, cooking meals and more. We depart from Southampton and sail along the Solent towards Dorset and the Jurassic Coast, stopping in towns and cities such as Portland, Weymouth, Poole along the way. We also visit the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Chichester as part of the voyage.

“The entire voyage was truly life-changing for all of us. We all learned something new, and all grew as individuals and as a team.”

 

“I think that if I did not go on this trip then I never would have gone sailing. However, now I would consider going with my family as I had a very enjoyable time and I learnt skills I would not have learnt elsewhere.”

This week-long expedition is open to all students in the school. Its aim is to provide students an opportunity to try something completely new in a winter environment, normally in a Scandinavian country.

Students will be able to get to grips with the new surroundings and learn some winter survival skills. Activities include:

  • Orienteering in the snow
  • Ice fishing
  • Building igloos
  • Cooking in the snow
  • Dogsledding
  • Visiting reindeer farms
  • Viewing the Northern Lights

This expedition is open to senior year groups in the school. In the past, we have visited countries such as Peru, Bolivia, China, Zambia and Botswana. This three/four-week expedition is designed to stretch and challenge students in a very unfamiliar environment, in a country they would not normally have the opportunity to visit.

Students take ownership of the entire expedition, from planning the itinerary to organising fundraising events during the planning phase in the UK, to leading the day-to-day operations while in country (organising transport, managing the budget, communicating with locals).

We strongly encourage students to pay for the expedition from fundraising activities, such as car washing, supermarket bag packing, a part time job, making something to sell.

Year 7 Summer Camp takes place during the Enrichment Week in Term 6, and is a tremendous opportunity for students to build their independence, self-confidence and resilience, and try out new and exciting outdoor activities with their peers. Year 7 Summer Camp has been running for many, many years, and we believe that it is of huge value to every student’s personal development.

Year 7 Summer Camp takes place at Broadstone Warren, situated on the edge of the Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, and is the largest scout camp in Europe. A programme of outdoor activities will be arranged, such as archery, crate stacking, net climbing and Tomahawk throwing. Students will be strongly encouraged to take part in all activities.

Every year, we ask the outgoing Year 11 and Sixth Form students for their most memorable events of their time at Gravesend Grammar School. Unsurprisingly, Year 7 Summer Camp is always one of the top answers.