By Claire Hines, Year 11
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is an extracurricular activity available from Year 10 onwards that combines the development of personal skills, physical recreation, service, and taking part in two mountain expeditions (practice and qualifying).
There are three levels in this award : the Bronze Award in Year 10 that consists of 13 or 26 hours of physical recreation, personal skill and service, and a year of outdoor training with 4 outings on the field including the practice and qualifying expeditions; the Silver Award in Year 11 which consists of twenty-six hours of service, skill, and physical recreation alongside the two winter expeditions; and the Gold Award from Year 12 to 13 which includes fifty-two hours of the three activities and an additional requirement of a residential project, and the two expeditions. It should be acknowledged that the length, commitment and level of difficulty of the expeditions increase significantly with each award.
The diploma received at the end of the course is a recognised worldwide certificate and is an impressive addition to participants’ CVs. The International Award is testament to a student’s organisational skills and hardworking nature, as these qualities are necessary to be able to successfully complete the Award. This activity has been available at LGB for several years now, and the school provides specialised equipment for each expedition and offers opportunities within the establishment to do the required activities.
This year, the Silver Award has received a record-breaking number of participants which, according to an outdoors activity coordinator, is due to a number of factors :
(English translation below)
« On peut aussi estimer qu’après 4 années de refondation du programme faite autour d’une organisation dynamique, d’individualisation des profils et de communication régulière, l’Award est maintenant connu et reconnu, sur ce point il est important de noter la forte volonté du département des sports relayée par la direction de l’école qui à donner les moyens nécessaires à cette refondation.
Il est aussi important de mettre en avant la place grandissante de l’éducation extra académique dans la formation des jeunes à La Grande Boissière. J’estime que les parents sont conscients du fait qu’une éducation équilibrée allie activités scolaires et activités extra-scolaires.
Dans un monde dans lequel la technologie et la modernité prennent une place prépondérante, je crois aussi que la confrontation directe aux éléments donne le sens de l’essentiel et que les familles sont sensibles à ce point.
Il ne faut pas oublier un élément de conjoncture, en effet nous sortons de deux années fortement marquées par le covid, les portes se sont ouvertes ainsi de nombreuses personnes souhaitent profiter de cette ouverture pour vivre l’aventure en groupe et en plein air. »
“It could also be due to the fact that after four years of revising the programme to create a more dynamic organisation, to individualise profiles and to encourage regular communication, the Award is now known and renowned. It is also important to acknowledge the efforts of the Sports Department supported by the school’s leadership team which provided the means for the improved International Award programme.
It is also necessary to emphasise the increasingly important role that extra-curricular activities play in the education of LGB students. Parents are becoming more and more aware of the fact that a balanced and well-rounded education consists of both academic achievements and extracurricular activities.
As technology and modernisation dominate our daily lives, when students go out and engage with the wilderness and nature, this emphasises what is truly essential, and parents are well aware of this fact.
Finally, we must not forget a key particularity of our current situation, that we are just coming out of two years heavily affected by Covid-19 restrictions, so that now the doors are open once again, floods people wish to enjoy this opportunity to adventure and to experience the outdoors.”
It should also be acknowledged that there is an increasing pressure on students to list extra-curricular activities in their university applications as these efforts to go above and beyond have become increasingly important in order to distinguish students’ personal statements. According to a 2015 survey conducted by Times Higher Education: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/extra-curricular-activities-now-more-important-to-university-applications/2017980.article
“Some heads of admissions say they have placed more value on extra-curricular activities because predicted A-level grades are not always reliable, while others say they help to distinguish between applicants with identical predicted grades. […] When asked what type of extra-curricular activities add value to a student’s personal statement, 92 per cent mention work experience and 68 per cent say regular volunteering. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is the third most cited form of activity (cited by 39 per cent of tutors), followed by fundraising (22 per cent) and captaining a sports team (18 per cent).”
This has become increasingly prevalent in recent years due to 2021’s grade inflation at university and secondary school levels following the pandemic. This inflation made it harder for Admissions Departments to judge the true abilities of students, therefore an extra-curricular activity such as the award could give students an edge by indicating the positive qualities they possess.
As a consequence of all these combined factors, the International Award has become more attractive to students, although perhaps not for the right reasons.
